


Celeste

by Ebaki



Category: Black Panther (2018), Deadpool (Movieverse), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Big Gay Love Story, Domino and Negasonic are besties tho so Domino is Super Supportive Friend (TM), El is a mess, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Juggernaut is an a-hole, Let Negasonic and Yukio be happy, Matchmaker Domino, Negasonic has slight internalised homophobia, No longer a Deadpool fic I guess?, Oops I have lots of other Marvel characters in here now, They're all in highschool, They're all like the same age-ish, Unless being edgy counts as a power, What Happened?, Yukio is less of a mess, but still kind of a mess, but we still love her, fight me, love my marvel ladies, nobody has powers, poor Nebula, well it is but now it has more people for everyone to love, yeah I have some other Marvel characters in here so what
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-06-28 16:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 46,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15711081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebaki/pseuds/Ebaki
Summary: Domino had never fallen. She had never tripped on the stairs, slipped in the hall, stumbled over uneven ground; she’s insanely lucky. Even socially and academically, she’s never fallen, she has never failed a test, never made a massive fool of herself that’s knocked her down the social ladder (which is surprising, considering her friendship with Wade). She always had the best parties, told the best jokes, even had the best food. Nobody had ever, not once, seen her fall (which is ironic, considering her nickname was Domino).Which is why, when she caught her best friend making heart-eyes at the new girl, she was determined to give her friend the best shot at a date possible (and then plan the best, most awesomest wedding ever for them, but that would have to wait until after she had scored them a date).





	1. Run, Run, Run

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely love these two. Just AGH! FIRST LGBTQ SUPERHEROES ON SCREEN! BRING IT ON! They're all in highschool in the same year, around 16/17 years old for all of them.

Domino had never fallen. She had never tripped on the stairs, slipped in the hall, stumbled over uneven ground; she’s insanely lucky. Even socially and academically, she’s never fallen, she has never failed a test, never made a massive fool of herself that’s knocked her down the social ladder (which is surprising, considering her friendship with Wade). She always had the best parties, told the best jokes, even had the best food. Nobody had ever, not once, seen her fall (which is ironic, considering her nickname was Domino). 

Which is why, when she caught her best friend making heart-eyes at the new girl, she was determined to give her friend the best shot at a date possible (and then plan the best, most awesomest wedding ever for them, but that would have to wait until after she had scored them a date).

-+-

It was the first day of the school year, and everyone was dragging their sorry butts through the halls of Xavier High School, already missing summer and counting down the minutes until the next holiday from the first second after the first bell signalled the start of the day (was that just their school? Or was it every school?). 

Domino found herself caught in a stream of people, who were all hurrying towards the school auditorium to have first-day-back-announcements and all that other yadda yadda. She was wearing simple black shorts and a white t-shirt, with her signature leather jacket and an afro crowning her head. She had once been self-conscious of her features; the white patch over her left eye, the dark, frizzy hair and thick thighs, but she had come to accept herself over the years, and by the time she was in high school, she flaunted her appearance. Her unique look made her feel special, and she strutted down the hall with an air of confidence, eyes peeled for any signs of her friends.

They better not have skipped the first day back. It looked bad, and made the teachers keep an eye on you for the rest of the semester. So, she had given her friends the sage wisdom of sucking up to the teachers for the first few weeks of school, so the teachers skimmed over them for the rest of the semester while keeping an eye on the other trouble makers, while they did all kinds of shit right under their noses.

“Hey Domino! Over here!” Ah. At least one of them had taken her advice. Domino veered off of her current path to intercept the person who had called her name: her best friend Ellie Phimister. El was kind of a grump the first time they had met, but after some incessant prodding and poking, she had agreed to sit with her at lunch one day, and they had become best friends ever since. 

Turns out, they both had similar interests; they both revelled in technology and pop culture, and had a very big appreciation of martial arts and science. Domino and El both took a martial arts class and they trained together every Tuesday and Thursday, making them very skilled at fighting and self-defence (skills that every woman should learn in today’s society). Domino liked maths more than El did though, and in turn she liked music more than Domino did. Domino was extraverted while El was more introverted, Domino liked concerts while El liked movies, Domino liked extravagance while El had simpler tastes, and this conflicting set of interests led them to appreciate things that they normally wouldn’t try, which made them a good pair. Opposites attract, people.

The two shared a quick embrace (Ellie wasn’t that fond of hugs), and El stepped back, glancing around. She was wearing her usual black lipstick and dark, ‘edgy’ clothes as Domino liked to call them, although, she had shaved her head. 

“I like your hair. Or well, lack thereof.” She commented, gesturing to her new haircut. It suited her; she was always different too, although Domino would miss her flowing locks of dark brown hair that reached well past her shoulders. It was fun to braid, seeing as she couldn’t braid her own hair. Ellie ducked her head in acknowledgement of her friend’s compliment, running her hand over her shaven head.

“Yeah. I kind of just wanted a change, y’know?” She explained before asking: “You haven’t seen V or the boys yet, have you?”, scanning the crowd surging past them. Domino shook her head.

“Nah. But you know them, they’re always late. Well. Maybe except Piotr. But we’ll see him soon enough if he’s here; you just don’t miss a guy that big.” Domino shrugged. “Do anything interesting this holiday? Meet any new… people?” Oh yeah. Best not to forget to mention that Ellie is 110% gay. Domino was just the only one she had trusted enough to tell, and even after that she had almost had a meltdown. Her family was incredibly homophobic, and so saying it aloud had brought with it quite a bit of panic. So Domino tried to be as discreet as possible when asking her friend about her love life; Ellie had made it very clear she didn’t want anyone else to know.

Ellie shook her head, looking slightly grateful at her friend’s choice of words. She probably hadn’t yet forgotten the time Domino had almost let her secret slip, and so seemed much more pleased at Domino’s carefulness. 

“No, not this time,” She replied with a shrug of her own. “I didn’t go out all that much. I watched a shit-tonne of movies though.” Domino rolled her eyes. Of course she had. Oh well, she still had time before she was doomed to a life of loneliness with her 23 cats. El watched the students flow past her.

“C’mon, let’s go before we’re late for announcements.” She declared, stepping forwards without waiting for an answer, leaving Domino to scramble after her. El was very… efficient. But that sometimes made her unapproachable by other students, who were all slightly unnerved by her brusque and blunt nature.

The two quickly joined the mass of people and were instantly swallowed by the crowd that flooded into the large auditorium, before taking their places on the stands at the edges of the hall. The announcements were boring as usual, welcoming the students back to school and so on, and so Domino preoccupied herself with examining the mass of students that filled the room with them, trying to pick out her friends in the haze of faces. 

She found Piotr almost immediately, of course, it was hard to miss him when he was over six feet tall. Next to him on his right side, sure enough, looking just as bored as she felt, was Wade Wilson and Vanessa Carlysle. On his other side stood Nathan Summers (but he preferred to be called Cable), looking sullen and none too keen to be back at school. Wow! They had all come to school this time! A momentous occasion indeed. They should celebrate, she decided. ‘First time and probably the LAST they had ALL managed to come to school on the first day’! Huffing with amusement, she turned her attention back to the Principal, who was still speaking on his podium.

The announcements went on, and on, and on, and on (like seriously, how long were these things supposed to be??), and finished with Principal Xavier introducing five new students: three girls and two boys. One of the girls was to be in their year, apparently, and Domino examined her with interest. She was very… bright. Her hair was long and dark, with pastel pink streaks running through it. She wasn’t that tall, maybe around El’s height, and was wearing a fashionable gray and pink sweater and a pair of denim jeans. She gave the crowd a warm smile when her name was called: Yukio Kutsuna (‘Hmmm Japanese maybe?’ Domino wondered, gazing down at the girl). All in all, she was quite attractive and looked like a very warm, sweet girl. Huh. Domino might just like someone outside of her friendship circle for once (everyone else here was pretty crappy. They all had rich parents, but that made some people very entitled and snobby). Perhaps she should talk to her and convince her to sit with their group, before some jerks snatched her up and turned her evil or something.

Domino leaned over to Ellie and was about to ask her opinion on the matter when she noticed her friend’s face. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were parted slightly as she gazed down at the new girl with an expression that could only be described as dreamlike, and oh, yeah, she was definitely getting this girl to sit with them at lunch. 

She supressed a snigger at Ellie’s hazy appearance and gently elbowed her friend’s side, making her snap back to attention and shoot Domino a wide-eyed look. Upon seeing her friend’s amused face and teasing glint in her eyes, she frowned and looked down in embarrassment at being caught gawking at the pretty girl, a blush forming on her cheeks. Uh-huh. This girl was not going anywhere.

And so, that is why she approached the girl at the end of announcements, despite Ellie’s dismayed protest of “What are you doing? Are you going up to her? NO! Stop it!”, and offered her a spot with them at lunch. Ellie positively growled behind them, but Yukio’s eyes lit up and she happily agreed to meet her again at lunch time, before waving at them pleasantly and strolling off. Domino grinned triumphantly, watching her leave. Ellie didn’t seem too pleased though, and punched her in the arm hard, eyes filled with annoyance. 

Domino rubbed her arm, shooting her friend a wounded look. “What was that for?”

Ellie looked furious, if not a little upset. “You KNOW what it was for! How could you do that?? Why would you-? AGH!” Ellie threw her hands up in frustration and stormed off, leaving Domino standing alone to gaze after her in confusion. What just happened? All she had done was ask Yukio to sit with them at lunch. Yeah, sure it was because this was the first time she had ever seen El take an interest in someone, but the new girl needed friends too. Surely there was no harm in that. Domino frowned, watching her friend disappear around a corner.

“OI! Domino! Over here!” Wade’s voice cut through her thoughts, and Domino rolled her eyes with a small smile as she turned to greet her other friends, El’s outburst momentarily forgotten.


	2. Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El's still pissed at Domino, but don't worry she'll meet Yukio soon enough. Title is from 'Drama' by AJR

Ellie was pointedly absent at lunch time, and Domino was finding it hard to conceal her disappointment. She’d really wanted Ellie to meet Yukio properly, and she was slightly worried about her vanishing and not speaking to any of them for most of the day after she’d stormed off. Domino was distracted from her thoughts however when she spotted Yukio approaching the table that Domino and the rest of her friends were sitting at slowly. Domino turned and offered her an encouraging smile, waving her over and shifting slightly, making more room for Yukio to sit. The uncertainty faded from Yukio’s eyes as she returned the smile, sliding into the spot Domino had saved for her.

“Hi.” She said shyly, nervousness hibernating in her voice, ducking her head in greeting to Domino and her friends. 

Domino beamed at her, trying to seem as friendly as possible. “Hi Yukio!” Turning to her friends, she added “Guys, this is the new girl, Yukio.” To her slight surprise, Wade was the first to greet her, eyes glinting good-humouredly as he waved at her.

“Hi Yukio! Name’s Wade.” He extended his hand out to her, which she shook hesitantly. Domino hoped she wasn’t being put off by their… excitement. 

“Piotr; is nice to meet you.” Piotr was the next to offer his hand, smiling at Yukio warmly. Domino could see her slight surprise as she shook his hand; Piotr was huge, with very large muscles, and had a very thick Russian accent. It was easy to think of him as mean or tough, but in reality he was a big softie. 

Vanessa introduced herself more softly, as if sensing the new girl’s discomfort, and, after an elbow in the ribs from Wade, Cable also grunted out what might have been a ‘Hello’ if one tried hard enough to find it. Domino rolled her eyes at him, and turned to look at Yukio, and was surprised to find her gazing back at her expectantly. Domino paused for a moment. What’d she miss? Had she asked a question? Luckily, Wade crowed the answer at her from the other side of the table. 

“And you areee?” He drawled, rolling his eyes at her. Oh shit, she’d totally forgotten to introduce herself. Pushing down some of her embarrassment, she turned and smiled at Yukio.

“Name’s Neena. But my friends call me Domino,” she introduced. Yukio’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of her nickname. 

“Domino?” She repeated slowly, the surprise fading from her face after a few seconds. Across the table, Wade hooted with laughter.

“If you think that’s weird just wait until you hear Ellie’s nickname!” Realisation seemed to dawn on him at the mention of their absent friend. “Hey, where is she anyway?” He glanced around, and, surprise surprise, she was nowhere to be found. Domino’s earlier worries began creeping back up on her again. Was she still mad at her? 

“I’m gonna go looking for her.” She declared, rising to her feet. The others nodded their assent, and with one last smile at Yukio, she turned and began walking towards the main section of the school, leaving just in time to hear Wade loudly ask Yukio what kind of movies she liked. 

-+-

Domino wandered the halls of the library, glancing around to see if she could spot Ellie’s shaved head. She’d decided the most likely spot to find her was here, seeing as she wasn’t exactly a social butterfly, and would enjoy the quiet of the library to cool off and listen to music or something. Sure enough, after rounding a few more corners and peering through the bookshelves, she found her sitting on the floor in a secluded corner of the room, headphones dangling around her neck, but she wasn’t alone. 

The school’s resident dickhead, a homophobic, sexist, white supremacist that some people called the Juggernaut was standing over El, a sneer pulling at his lips. El seemed unfazed, despite the hulking guy glaring down at her, returning his heated stare with an unimpressed glare of her own. Something he said next must have pissed her off, because Domino managed to catch the end of her replying statement as she approached: “-head out of your ass it’s not a hat, you intolerant shithead.”

Juggernaut’s face twisted into an ugly snarl and he took another step towards El’s sitting form, but at this point, Domino swiftly stepped between them.

“What’s going on here?” She demanded sharply, giving Juggernaut a hard stare, as El rose slowly behind her. Domino glanced at her. “You alright?” El gave her a terse nod, her gaze flicking between the two people before her, shoulders hunched defensively. Juggernaut regarded them warily. He knew they both trained together doing mixed martial arts, and she saw him considering his options. He still looked like he wanted to strike Ellie, but apparently satisfied himself with a disgusted snort before storming off, flipping the bird at them as he left.

“Real mature.” Ellie drawled at his retreating figure. 

Domino inspected her silently for a moment, before asking again “You sure you’re alright?”

Ellie shifted her gaze back to her friend’s face, and Domino was unsure if the anger in her eyes was directed at her or Juggernaut.

“I’m so sorry.” Domino burst out. “I’ve never seen you look at anybody like you looked at her. I wanted to you to be able to get closer to her before she sat with anyone else and you weren’t going to say anything… I just wanted to give you a chance. Plus, she’s really sweet. I think you’ll really like her.” The words spilled from her mouth in a rush, and she quickly snapped her jaws shut, hoping the anxious look in her eyes would effectively convey her guilt. El’s expression softened slightly and she closed her eyes, shoulders sagging as she let out a sigh. When she opened them again there was still a hint of reproach in her gaze, but she was much less angry than she was before.

“I thought she was pretty. Really pretty, yeah, but it’s not like I’m in love with her…” She sighed again, this time in defeat, and she dropped her gaze. “It’d never work out anyway. I don’t know her. She doesn’t know me.” Glancing around, she dropped her voice to a harsh whisper before continuing. “And it’s not like even if she did like girls, I’d ever… do anything anyway. I can’t let anyone know about…” She trailed off, looking away, her expression pained. Domino suddenly understood why her friend had been so upset at her trying to match them up. She didn’t want to be matched up, because then everybody would find out that she was gay. 

Another pang of guilt flashed through her. She hadn’t thought about El’s fear of being outed, she had just been thinking about her own excitement. “I’m really so so sorry. I can… get her to leave?” Oh yeesh, what would she say to Yukio? But El shook her head, glancing up at her again with a tired look in her eyes.

“No… it’s fine. I’ll deal with it.” She looked away again, muttering. “I mean, I see lots of pretty girls, and I’m not weird around them. Vanessa’s pretty, I don’t hit on her.” She probably hadn’t meant for Domino to hear the last part, but she didn’t comment further, so Domino let it slide. Her thoughts drifted back to Juggernaut, and she wondered what the hell he was doing here.

“What did Juggernaut want?” She asked, lowering her voice and glancing at the place he had disappeared as though double checking he wasn’t lurking around the corner listening to them. El made a face at the mention of the hulking brute, eyes flashing with renewed anger. It was definitely something bad if it got El this worked up. But her friend apparently didn’t want to say what he’d said because she dodged the question, albeit clumsily.

“Nothing important. He’s just a jackass. Let’s go back to the others.” She strode past Domino and disappeared behind a library bookshelf, heading for the exit, leaving her friend behind once again to scramble after her without warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I'm okay at writing these characters. This is only my second time writing, I hope you guys don't mind my terrible skills.


	3. Heart Afire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title is from 'Heart Afire' by Defqwop, S-Trix

Ah shit, this was bad. Apparently, when El said she’d ‘deal with’ interacting with Yukio, she meant being a total a-hole. In the days following their conversation, she’d been incredibly abrupt and brusque with the poor girl, rebuffing her every attempt at pleasant conversation to the point that Domino decided that she’d had enough and needed to get her friend to stop being mean. It was affecting the whole group. She’d been not only rude to Yukio, but very offensive and harsh to Wade and Cable, and had even snapped at Piotr the other day, and it was by then that Domino decided action needed to be taken to get her to calm down.

It was 3 weeks after they’d spoken in the library, and it was on this day, after a particularly sarcastic remark at Yukio’s expense, she’d grabbed Ellie by the elbow while they walked out of school and dragged her into an empty classroom to their left, despite El’s angry protest. Closing the door behind them, she whirled on El and fixed her with her most intimidating stare, which, in comparison to the frightening glare El was giving to her, was pretty weak.

“You need to stop.” Domino began, trying to sound stern, folding her hands across her chest.

El’s glare sharpened. “Stop what?”

“You know what!”

“Uh, no I don’t” She responded stubbornly.

“Fine. Stop being a total bitch to everyone. You’re being so mean! When you said you were gonna deal with Yukio, I didn’t think you meant you were gonna be an asshole to her so she hates you!”

“Well what am I supposed to do??” There was a desperate edge to El’s angry voice now. “She just- She- AGH! She makes me feel so stupid!” Domino’s eyebrows crept upwards at El’s exclamation, but she wasn’t done yet. “She’s in my head! She laughs at Wade’s idiotic jokes and she’s so nice to everyone and she just… She’s so pretty and kind and funny and… She’s making it really hard for me!” El stomped over to the nearest desk, pulled out the chair and sat down, gripping her head in her hands miserably. She was silent for a few moments, before whispering “I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do. She makes me feel all… weird. But I can’t let myself like her. And if I did become friends with her, I might not be able to hide it from her and she’d tell everybody and then my parents-” She choked and broke off, her shoulders slumping, head hanging low. 

Domino let her arms drop to her sides as sympathy swept over her. Her friend looked so upset and miserable and confused. But she wasn’t thinking properly. Sidling up to her, Domino placed her hands on her friend’s shoulders; a small tremor ran through the girl’s body at the contact. Taking a seat beside her, she began rubbing her friend’s back in a soothing manner.

“Hey… look it’s okay… don’t be upset…” To her surprise, El leaned against her abruptly, her eyes closed. She let out a shuddering breath and slowly dropped her head to let it rest on Domino’s shoulder, and in return Domino wrapped her arms around her friend, enveloping her in a gentle hug. Some of the tension drained from El’s body as she leaned against her friend, and Domino felt a sudden surge of protective affection for her friend, something she didn’t feel all that much around El. She could take care of herself in most cases, but seeing her so helpless in this situation made her feel defensive of her, in a way, and she felt a renewed determination to help her. 

“Look, I know it seems like it sucks because you feel like you can’t hide your feelings around her, but have you ever considered that she might be into girls too?” El stirred against her, and Domino released her from the hug so she could turn to look at her with confused eyes. 

“Think about it.” She pressed. “Have you ever asked her? And she doesn’t seem like the uh… lets say… straightest tool in the shed.” El’s confusion deepened, but there was a spark of hope beginning to glow in her eyes at Domino’s proposition. Then, defeat washed over her again and she slumped back into her seat, her black lips in an unhappy frown.

“How would I ever find out? I can’t just ask her if she prefers girls or guys.” She paused and glanced at Domino with questioning eyes. “Can I?” Domino frowned thoughtfully. Probably not, but if it was in a different context… An idea began forming in her brain, and her glee must have shown on her face because El’s interest perked up.

“What is it?” She demanded, dark eyes flashing.

“You know what this calls for? A bonding experience. I suggest we go to the movies and have dinner and a sleepover.” Domino declared. El looked unimpressed, and raised one eyebrow, lips pursed.

“That’s your brilliant idea?”

“Hey! You can’t judge until you try it! Maybe you just need to get a little closer to her? Besides, it’ll make up for being so mean to her.”

El looked unconvinced, but she rose to her feet and nodded slowly. “Fine. But only because I’ve been such a bitch lately.” Domino whooped internally. “When should we have it?” 

“Tomorrow night?” Domino suggested.

El hesitated, before nodding and turning away from her, walking to the door. She paused with her hand on the knob, and glanced at Domino over her shoulder. “I know you’re planning something. Please think this through.” Her dark eyes were filled with apprehension.

Domino placed one hand on her chest and held the other up in a solemn gesture. “I promise I won’t mess it up.” She swore. El offered her a small smile, relaxing slightly, and exited the room. Don’t worry El! I got this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Negasonic. All I can say. But I wanted to have her show a little vulnerability in this chapter, hope she's not too ooc. I'm midway through writing the dinner date chapter, but don't worry. I might actually finish this fic soon, seeing as I've planned it all out.


	4. I feel glorious, glorious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE DATE IS HERE! NEGASONIC IS AWKWARD AF BUT WE STILL LOVE HER!

Yukio happily agreed to join them for the night, to Domino’s slight surprise. She hadn’t been as apprehensive about hanging around El as she thought, although there was a certain awkwardness as they sat around the table for dinner at a pizza place near the cinemas, and Domino found herself being the main driver of the conversation for a while. It didn’t help El’s situation that Yukio was looking particularly stunning that night, even to Domino. Her hair was in a loose, messy bun that somehow still looked perfect, and was wearing some hoop earrings and another fashionable sweater, although she had traded her jeans for a pretty denim skirt, paired with some tan boots. 

El was wearing some slightly less edgy clothing for the dinner, (Domino’s suggestion) although she still wore her signature black lipstick, but had added some pretty earrings and borrowed one of Domino’s jackets. She was biting the inside of her cheek; a habit Domino had noticed she did whenever she was nervous, and kept darting her gaze around the room anxiously. Man, she really was a wreck around this girl. And so, Domino was tasked with keeping the conversation light and friendly between them, and Yukio, although slightly awkward herself, remained cheery throughout their time at dinner.

When El excused herself with a mutter to go to the bathroom however, Yukio turned to look at Domino with something akin to hurt shining in her eyes. Glancing around, she leaned in and whispered: “Why does El hate me so much? Maybe I should just go home…” disappointment was heavy in her voice, but Domino refused, shaking her head adamantly.

“She doesn’t hate you, she’s just… nervous.” Yukio frowned at her poor explanation, and so she hurried on. “Look, do you like video games or movies or like, music? She loves those. She’ll talk your ear off about them, just bring it up and I’m sure she’ll come out of her shell more.” Domino lowered her voice, too, before adding “She doesn’t have that many friends that share her interests, or… friends in general. She thinks she might freak you out if she gets too excited about ‘nerd stuff’, but if you showed you liked it too…” 

Yukio’s eyes softened in understanding, and it seems she bought Domino’s explanation, as she flashed Domino a grin, sitting back again. “I get it. You should’ve told me that sooner! I’m kind of geeky myself, I guess I’ve been holding back for the same reasons too.” Domino gave her a lopsided grin in response. Maybe this could work.

“I’m sure she’ll love it if you talk about that stuff. In fact, I might never hear the end of it now…”

El came back a couple of minutes later and slid into the booth again, refusing to meet Yukio’s gaze once more. Yukio hesitated for a few moments, but took a deep breath and began talking.

“So, El, about this movie tonight… Did you pick it?” 

El’s gaze finally snapped up to meet Yukio’s, and she looked slightly defensive before nodding slowly. Yukio however, beamed at her. 

“I thought I was the only one who actually wanted to see this movie! I hope it’s as good as the book, though, otherwise I’ll be majorly disappointed.” 

El tilted her head, and was, to Domino’s delight, holding the girl’s gaze more comfortably, albeit still cautiously. “You’ve read the book too?”

Yukio nodded vigorously, and El relaxed slightly, before asking, “What was your favourite part?”

And wouldn’t you know it, just as Domino predicted, they were soon chattering excitedly about books, movies, and videogames. She could tell she was definitely not going to hear the end of it tonight, but she didn’t mind. Seeing how excited the two were, she found herself rolling her eyes affectionately as the two began debating which Harry Potter book was the best. 

“Order of the Phoenix, definitely.” El declared.

“Nuh uh, Goblet of Fire.” Yukio insisted.

“What? Are you kidding me?? No way!”

And on and on and on. It was cute, but worry was beginning to worm it’s way into her heart; she just hoped it all ended well for El. She could tell that she liked the girl a lot, from just how her eyes were shining in this moment. She hadn’t looked that happy in ages. Sighing, she stood up to pay for their meal, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. They could pay her back later, or not, she didn’t really mind.

It was 7:00. Their movie started at 7:15. The trio headed down the road to the cinema, now in a much more comfortable state than they had been at the beginning of the night. She grinned at the two, who were now squabbling about their theories for some video game, Five Nights At something or other. It was really, really cute. That is, it was until they started talking about a string of murders. But it was still… kind of cute.

They entered the movie theatre and Domino validated the tickets she’d bought online while the others got snacks. They made it to their movie with 4 minutes to spare. El and Yukio were whispering beside her, apparently discussing what they thought would be in the movie. Occasionally, one of them would giggle quietly. She suppressed a small smile. They were absolute nerds. Domino had no idea what this movie was about, but El had insisted on watching this one if she was going to watch one. She relaxed into the cinema seat as the opening credits began to play, and the murmuring of her two friends died down instantly. 

She glanced over at the two of them and smirked. It was subtle, but El had definitely shifted so she leaned more towards Yukio. As the movie progressed, it became more and more obvious, and Yukio, too, had moved so that now, their arms were touching as the leaned onto each other. One of them would sometimes whisper something to the other, and the other would nod or laugh quietly in return. Domino’s grin widened, much less focused on the film as she watched her two friends.

As if sensing Domino’s gaze, El glanced at her curiously, but at seeing her amused expression, she stiffened and moved away from Yukio sharply, sitting up straighter in her seat. Yukio blinked at her in the darkness, and slowly shifted away from her too, so they were now separated again and watching the movie with rigid backs. Tension radiated off of El, and Domino swallowed a lump of disappointment that had formed in her throat. Damn, and they’d been doing so well too.

The rest of the movie was much less eventful, and Domino found herself nodding off towards the end of the film. All in all, she was eager to leave the cinema at the end of it and head home. The walk back to her house was silent for a few minutes, and Domino racked her brain for conversation topics to remove the awkward atmosphere. It turned out to be unnecessary though, as El turned to Yukio before exclaiming.

“Well that movie was shit!” 

Yukio’s face split into a wide grin and she relaxed, laughing lightly.

“Majorly disappointed.” She agreed. El smiled at her warmly. The rest of the walk was in a much lighter mood, as the two geeks discussed how bad the movie was in comparison to the books. 

Walking up the steps to her house listening to El and Yukio chat, she went over her not-so-genius, genius plan to get Yukio to tell them her preferences in her head, and just hoped- prayed- that everything worked out the way she wanted it to, as unlikely as that was. But then again, Domino had always been lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayyyy so that's all I've got in me for tonight. Still, 4 chapters is pretty good! I am very, VERY tired though, so please forgive the editing errors, I will fix all of it tomorrow aha.


	5. Why'd You Have To Go And Cut Your Hair?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girl chats. Gotta love 'em.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from 'Ubu' by Methyl Ethel.

As it turned out, Yukio wasn’t lying when she boasted about destroying people at Mariokart. Right now, Ellie was muttering curses under her breath as she raced, the number 2 in the corner of her screen, while Yukio giggled gleefully and sped towards the finish line in 1st place. At the last second though, she screeched to a halt right before she could cross, and El zoomed past her. Yukio smiled and put on the accelerator, finishing second. El glared at her crossly. 

“Why’d you do that? Now we’ll never know who’s the best at this stupid game.” She scolded her, a playful edge to her voice. 

“Oh I think we all know I would’ve won had I kept going. I was just being nice.” El stuck her tongue out at her, before standing and trudging over to Domino’s game cabinet to look for another game to play. So far, they’d done speedruns of Super Mario, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, Crash Bandicoot and Mariokart. Domino only had two remotes, so she was content to watch them challenge each other. El rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a game and examining the front.

“How about this one?” She called to the others, holding it up for them to see. It was titled Little Nightmares. Domino rolled over onto her back and yawned.

“Yeah sure. It’s a horror game but it’s single player, so you won’t be able to play together.”

El frowned and turned back to the cabinet, ready to search for another game, but Yukio interrupted her before she could.

“No, it’s fine. I’m a little tired of playing videogames. You can play it though.” Her eyes sparkled in the light emitted from the tv screen. “Or we could have a girl chat.”

Yes! Perfect! This is exactly what Domino needed to find out what she wanted about Yukio.

Nodding vigorously, she agreed. “Yeah, let’s have a girl chat. We haven’t had one of those in a while, El. And well, I’ve never had one with you, Yukio.” She rolled over again so she was lying on her stomach and smacked the pillow next to her. “El. Sit.”

El returned the game to the cabinet and walked back over to the two girls, sitting on the pillow Domino had hit. She tilted her head.

“What do you wanna chat about?” She asked.

“Hmmm… well, how’s about we play a game or two first, and see what comes out of them.” Domino suggested. El rose an eyebrow at her.

“I thought we didn’t want to play games anymore.”

Domino rolled her eyes. “Videogames. Besides, these games just help us to find gossip topics.” El blinked. 

“Okay. I have no idea what you’re doing but okay.”

Domino nodded. Okay. Let’s see. 

“Truth or dare?” She suggested, eyebrows raising thoughtfully.

“Noooo that’s boring.” Yukio complained. “How about… Who Would You Rather?” 

Oh wow. This was just too perfect. 

“Yeah sure.” She agreed, before turning to look expectantly at Ellie. “El?”

“That sounds fine.” El replied, sounding a little forced.

“Okay, Yukio, you start.”

Yukio tapped her chin thoughtfully, before grinning. 

“Wade or Cable?”

Domino screwed up her face. “Ewww. Not our friends, they’re like brothers.” A pause. “But Cable definitely.”

“Cable.” El conceded. 

“Really? I would go for Wade.” Yukio said, looking a little embarrassed. At the looks she got from the other girls, she continued defensively. “But just cause he’s funnier than Cable!”

Domino rolled her eyes. “Yeahhhh sure. Okay. How about Peter P or Ronan?”

“Peter.” Came the instant replies. Wow. Okay, yeah, Ronan’s a jackass.

El’s turn. She considered her options thoughtfully. “Peter Q or Thor?”

“Thor.” Domino replied after a moment’s thought.

“Peter Q.” Came Yukio’s reply.

Huh. Okay. But that one was more easy to discern, seeing as Peter Q had a girlfriend. And well, Thor is Thor.

The game continued on like this for a while, and Domino was right, it did lead to some pretty interesting conversations as people defended their choices, but she still hadn’t figured out where Yukio stood in this. Then it was Domino’s turn again, and she decided to go for her chance.

“Wanda or Loki?”

El’s answer was immediate, almost too fast. “Loki.”

Yukio however, looked thoughtful. After a moment, however, she answered slowly: “I think I’m going to go for Wanda.” Silence. Yukio hurried to defend herself. “Not that Loki’s bad, he’s just a bit… Greasy. And Wanda’s pretty too.” A nervous chuckle escaped her. El was looking at Yukio with a strange expression, and Domino elbowed her in the side discreetly to get her to stop before Yukio noticed. El looked away.

“Okay, yeah. I agree.” Domino conceded, and El turned her startled gaze onto her. Domino gave her a small smile, attempting to calm her.

“My turn.” Yukio announced, interrupting their moment. “Natasha or Nebula?”

Oh. They were turning the game to girls, Domino thought, triumph welling up inside her. El was silent, before she slowly said “Natasha.”

Domino smiled to herself and agreed. “Natasha.”

Yukio tilted her head, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I would’ve gone Nebula.” She paused. “She’s mean but she’s also kinda cool too. And I like her hair.” She gave El a sly sideways glance. El looked surprised and baffled, a blush slowly creeping its way across her face. Nebula’s head was shaved, too.

Domino’s internal smile grew. Maybe Yukio not only liked girls, but liked El too? Wouldn’t that be absolutely amazing? 

But El surprised her by standing up abruptly and starting to walk away from them, headed towards the bedroom door.

“Bathroom.” She called over her shoulder, before she disappeared and closed the door behind her.

Domino felt disappointment well up inside of her, again. Why did El have to keep running? This just showed that they have a chance together, and she left?

Turning back to Yukio, she could see her own disappointment reflected in her eyes. Ducking her head, Yukio muttered softly, “I told you she hates me.”

“She doesn’t.” Domino stressed. “She’s just going to the bathroom.” Yukio looked unconvinced, and for good reason. Geez, El just needs to chill a bit, Domino thought with a flash of irritation. But then she remembered the look of sheer panic El had had on her face when she had come out to her, and she felt a pang of guilt. El was just scared. And she needed the support of her closest friend. 

Lifting her head to lock eyes with Yukio, she began talking. “Look Yukio, I need to tell you something about-“

She broke off as El slipped back into the room, shutting the door and plopping herself back onto her pillow.

“Where were we?” She asked, a small grin gracing her features. It was awkwardly silent for a few moments, before Yukio piped up softly.

“It was your turn, El.” 

El started for a moment, looking mildly surprised, but gave Yukio a smile afterwards.

“Yeah sorry. Okay… Let’s see…”

They played the game for another 20 minutes or so, but quickly got bored once most of their options ran out. It was time for a new game. That is, it was before Yukio said “Do you guys know Juggernaut?”

El and Domino exchanged a glance, looking surprised. 

“Yeah we know Juggernaut, why?” Domino searched Yukio’s gaze. Where was she going with this? Yukio looked down, studying her feet.

“I heard him talking about both of you.”

Domino’s eyebrows raised in curiosity and confusion. Huh?

“What was he saying?” She asked.

Yukio looked away. “He said he doesn’t like you, Domino. But… I think he has a… a thing for you, El.” El’s eyes shot wide open in surprise. 

“Me?” She repeated, dumbfounded.

“Yeah. He was saying that you were- and I’m quoting him here- ‘effing sexy’. Something about you being his type.” She looked uncomfortable. “Do you like him?”

El was still looking shocked, but she shook her head. “He’s an asshole.”

Yukio relaxed slightly. She glanced around, even though it was only them in the room, before leaning forwards to whisper “He was saying you were hot, and that… even though you’re a ‘feisty bitch’, you would be great for him, if you ‘just knew a great guy when you saw him’ blah blah, you’re ‘missing out’ and that he could show you how to loosen up a little.” She wrinkled her nose, sitting back. “He’s disgusting.” 

El gazed at Yukio silently for a moment.

“He said that I was pretty before I cut my hair.” She began in an annoyed, almost angry voice. “He said I’m ugly now, and when I told him to get lost, he said that he was probably the best I could do, and that every other person found me unattractive, and that he’d still take me even though I looked like...” She paused. “even though I looked disgusting.” She finished awkwardly.

There was silence in the room for a moment, before El snorted with amusement. “I told him to get his head out of his ass because it wasn’t a hat.” Realisation dawned on Domino at the statement.

“So that’s what he said to you in the library.” She murmured, understanding washing over her. Yukio looked confused. 

“Huh? When was this?”

“It was before I met you.” El told her with a shrug. “I don’t really care; I wouldn’t date him even if he was the last human being on Earth.” Domino smirked at her words. Of course she wouldn’t, and not just for the reason she mentioned. El ignored her amused expression and checked her watch, before clearing her throat.

“Anyway, it’s late, maybe we should go to sleep now.” She announced abruptly. Yukio was staring at her with an unreadable expression on her face, but she nodded at El’s suggestion. 

“Yeah… I’m getting kind of tired, too.”

They quickly brushed their teeth and got underneath the blankets Domino had provided. Tiredness washed over her, but before Domino lost consciousness, she heard Yukio moving around in her spot, and heard her call out softly “El? You still awake?”

“Mmmm?” El hummed sleepily in response.

“Juggernaut’s a liar. And an idiot.” Silence. “I think you’re really pretty.” 

El remained silent for a few moments, before whispering “I think you’re really pretty, too.”

Domino’s internal smile shone brightly, and she opened her eyes and discreetly prodded El with her index finger. El opened one eye to look at her. Domino beamed at her friend, and she could see El blush in the faint light, before rolling over so her back was to her. But Domino didn’t miss the small smile that tugged at her lips before she turned away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots more dialogue in this one. Hope you guys don't mind. Next chapter might take a little longer, but I'll be posting two chapters when it does come out (maybe) just cause I prewrote the other chapter today.


	6. What the Hell's Going On? Can Someone Tell Me Please?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More supportive friend stuff. I hope you enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Echo by Crusher-P

Just as Domino had thought, El and Yukio were fast friends, and within weeks they did almost everything together. They were practically inseparable, and Domino noted how good of an influence Yukio was to El. El had softened considerably since become friends with Yukio, and was much more outgoing with her. Right now, they were practically wrestling each other for a bag of mnms. Wade, Piotr, Cable and Vanessa watched with surprised eyes. 

Wade leaned over to Domino and whispered “If that was me, El would’ve actually poked my eyes out by now. Since when did she get so… playful?” El let go of the bag and let Yukio have it, sticking out her tongue at her. Wade looked even more baffled. “And when did they become so close?” 

Domino grinned. “I just made them go on a movie date with me the other week. They’re both huge nerds. I guess they bonded over it.”

Piotr nodded approvingly. “At least she’s not so mean to us all anymore.” He commented. Cable rolled his eyes at the statement

Vanessa, however, had narrowed her eyes at the two, and was watching them critically. What’s that all about? Domino thought. Does she not like them?

The bell that signalled the end of lunch interrupted her pondering, however, and she stood to leave for her next class with a groan. Yukio and El meanwhile squabbled over who go to keep the remainder of the mnms. From the sounds of it, Yukio was going to have it. Domino smiled and shook her head slowly, beginning to walk towards the main building. 

Once inside, an arm suddenly yanked her backwards and pulled her into a side door that led the bathroms. She spun around to face her attacker, hands raised defensively, but was met with Vanessa’s searching gaze. 

“V what the hell! I could’ve beaten you!” Domino exclaimed, lowering her arms. The other opened her mouth to speak, but paused, glancing around. She quickly ran up along the cubicles, checking for feet. Yeah, no one else was here. Unless they were standing on the toilet seat. Seemingly satisfied with her search, Vanessa came to a halt in front of Domino, looking at her somewhat sternly. 

“El likes Yukio, doesn’t she?” She murmured softly, but it wasn’t a question so much as it was a statement. Domino felt shock flash through her. 

“No she doesn’t. Why would you think that?” Domino replied, a bit too defensive. Vanessa looked incredibly unimpressed and rolled her eyes.

“You aren’t an idiot. You’ve seen how she acts around Yukio. She’s got a crush. That much is obvious.” She snorted. “Look, I don’t want to cause trouble or anything. I care about El, too, believe it or not. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only one seeing it.”

Domino relaxed slightly, but still felt troubled. How many more people had noticed? “Don’t tell anyone.” She stressed pleadingly. Vanessa’s eyes flashed. 

“I’m no traitor. If El wanted people to know, she’d tell them.” She huffed. Domino gave her a small smile.

“She’s not… ready yet.” She explained awkwardly. Vanessa blinked.

“If she’s not ready, why is she being so obvious?”

“She’s not trying to be!” Domino protested. “She’s just… I don’t think she knows how to act. I’ll talk to her though, and make sure she understands that people might notice now.”

Vanessa nodded understandingly and walked towards the exit to the bathroom, seemingly done with their conversation. “Make sure she does.” Softening her voice slightly, she added “I don’t want her to get hurt.” She then threw a small smile over her shoulder at Domino, and murmured “Their secret is safe with me.”

Relief washed over her as Vanessa exited the room. Thank God V was reasonable. In the meantime, however, Domino would have to figure out how to ask El to tone it down a bit if she wanted her feelings to remain secret.

-+-

El had been alarmed when Domino told her Vanessa knew about her crush. At first she’d been horrified and angry at Domino, who she thought had told her. When Domino explained that it was because she was being so… weird to Yukio, however, she had seemed even more distressed.

“What do I do?” She had all but shouted, pacing the floor of Domino’s room. “I can’t be mean to her again, I’d hurt her!” In a quieter voice she added “And it would hurt me too, if she thought I hated her again.” She sat next to Domino on her bed, and dropped her head onto her friend’s shoulder. Wow, Yukio really was softening her up. El usually hated physical contact. Hesitantly, Domino put an arm around her upset friend, and to her surprise, she didn’t pull away. Instead, she slumped a little more heavily onto Domino’s shoulder, letting out a dejected sigh.

Okay, maybe now it was time to give her The S Talk™. Not the birds and the bees talk. The… Supportive Friend Talk. So maybe it was The S F Talk.

Rubbing her friend’s arm, she considered what she was going to say carefully. “It’s your choice,” she began. “You choose who and when you decide to tell. You don’t even have to tell anyone. I’ll always be here for you.” She paused, thinking over her next words. “You don’t even have to act on your feelings if you don’t want people finding out. I don’t think you should do that though. I think… I think you should be honest with Yukio.” 

El opened her mouth to protest. “I can’t! My family! They’d hate me! And… what if she says she doesn’t like me back?” She shrank backwards, looking pained.

“But what if she says she does?” Domino countered. “Look, I don’t think it’s that far fetched to think that that is a possibility.” El looked up at her, the defeat in her eyes fading slightly. 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Dude! It’s pretty obvious that she likes you! Literally, I swear sometimes she’s just outright flirting with you.” She laughed, slightly surprised that her friend was so oblivious. “And if she does say no, who cares? At least you tried and don’t spend your whole life regretting that you didn’t take a chance. You’ll still have me either way.” El brightened slightly, before sinking back down again.

“But my family…” She trailed off uncertainly.

“Look, I know that your parents are… less than supportive of this kind of thing.” Domino began; El’s eyebrows lifted, looking unimpressed. Domino ignored the look. “But they’re not your only family. You’re a part of my family, too. And Wade’s. And Piotr’s. And Cable’s and Vanessa’s.” El looked unconvinced, so Domino squeezed her arm slightly. “Sometimes the family you’re born with just… isn’t right. Sometimes you need to find family too. And I’m glad you’re a part of my family.”

El closed her eyes and turned around, before wrapping her arms around Domino’s middle, pulling her into a hug. Domino smiled and returned the gesture, squeezing her tightly. 

“I love you Domino. Thanks for being there for me.” She muttered softly. Oh, yeah. She was definitely softening up. 

“I love you too, El.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will feature El and Yukio sorting stuff out. I might make an aside when I finish this story, but from El's perspective as we go through some of the events from this story. Tell me if you guys would want that or if you just want this to be a Domino-centred story only. I'd personally love to write her version of events for some of this stuff, but it all depends on what you all want. Also, I wanted to feature a LITTLE bit more of everyone else in this chapter. Don't worry, I'll have more of them in more chapters in the future. This fic is around halfway-ish. I still want to write quite a bit more though. Tell me what you guys think!


	7. If You Must Leave, Leave as Though Fire Burns Under Your Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I lied. This chapter doesn't feature the golden gals that much at all. But it does feature Domino and the others more, especially Cable (cause Cable and Domino were in a relationship in some of the comics. Is that a spoiler? Idk.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from You by Keaton Henson

It was two weeks after the S F Talk™, and El and Domino were getting ready to go out to a party hosted by a kid called Tony Stark at his house. Out of everyone at the damn school, he was the richest. (He wasn’t bad looking either, but Domino would never admit that). The party was for Peter Parker, Tony’s best friend. Half of the school had been invited, but it was almost certain that there were going to be more people than that. Oh well, Tony’s house was supposedly a mansion; he could accommodate a few strays.

El was nervous about the party. She didn’t like large social gatherings. The girl was once again pacing the floor of Domino’s room anxiously, muttering to herself.

Domino, who had been examining earrings to let El have for the party, turned to her with a small smile and holding two different pairs of earrings, one long and dangly, the other pair studs.

“Look, you’ll be fine. It’s just a party. If you wanna leave early, just tell me and I’ll take us home.” She reassured her friend, lifting up the pairs of earrings. “Which ones?”

El was wearing a leather jacket and a nice white shirt, denim jeans, and had some pretty, pink tinted lip gloss on. Domino decided the black was too edgy for the party. Her hair was also different. Domino had dragged her out to get another hair cut, as it was in that ‘awkward phase’ that people reach after shaving their heads. Now it was styled so the sides of her head were much shorter, with a crop of longer, curly hair going down the middle of her head. Frowning between El’s disgruntled face and the earrings, she decided one of each was best. That'd look cool. El, meanwhile, didn’t look all that happy with her new look.

“Here you go! Trust me, you look gorgeous!” Domino gushed, giving her a playful smirk. “But in all seriousness, you look great.”

The corners of El’s mouth lifted into a small smile of her own, and she turned to gaze at herself in Domino’s full length mirror.

“When’s Yukio gonna be over?” El asked over her shoulder, still examining herself critically.

“Soon.” Domino replied, checking her phone for the time.

El tugged the jacket down a bit and frowned at herself in the mirror.

“She’ll think you’re pretty.” Domino assured her friend softly, knowing that El was nervous about seeing Yukio again. No matter how much time they spent at school being huge, nerdy losers, El always got anxious before they went out together.

El gave her a terse nod, and Domino could tell she didn’t believe her. The doorbell rang downstairs, signalling Yukio’s arrival. El jumped a bit in surprise, and Domino walked past her to get the door. 

“Meet us downstairs as soon as you stop staring at yourself in the mirror.” She called over her shoulder teasingly. Domino heard a huff of annoyed amusement, and heard her friend’s footsteps following her down the stairs. The house was silent, as usual. Domino’s parents were hardly ever home; they were always out on business. Not that Domino minded that much, she was happy for the solitude and privacy. So was El. 

Her parents were always home, but they weren’t very nice to her at all. They were very controlling. El wasn’t allowed to text anyone without her parents reading her messages every night. She wasn’t allowed out all that often. She wasn’t allowed to drive. And she wasn’t allowed to have a boyfriend. Good thing she’s gay, then. But, if her parents found out, Domino doubted they would let her stay around any longer. They might even pull her out of school and make her home-schooled.

Domino’s thoughts were shoved to the back of her mind when she opened the door to let Yukio in. The girl looked stunning. She was wearing a pretty dress, boots and a denim jacket. Her hair was out and flowed loosely over her shoulders. Yukio gave her a warm smile.

“You look great.” She complimented. Domino snorted. She was just wearing her usual clothes, but with nicer earrings and makeup. She accepted the compliment though.

“You do too.” She replied.

Yukio’s eyes slid past Domino to inspect El. From the way her eyes lit up, Domino could tell she thought El was stunning, too. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out as she looked at El with a somewhat dazed expression. Domino recognised it to be the same expression El had worn on the first day at school upon seeing Yukio. Domino bit back a snigger of amusement.

“Hi.” El waved, a small blush creeping across her face at the look Yukio was giving her.

The girl snapped out of her stupor at El’s greeting, and Yukio gave her a small smile and a wave in return, a similar blush spreading across her own face. Domino, almost choking on the sexual tension in the room, clapped her hands and hurriedly stepped outside.

“Let’s go!” She excaimed, walking towards her car. She was designated driver of the night, and so she wasn’t allowed to drink. She didn’t mind that much though. She could drink when she got home, if she wanted to. 

The drive to Tony’s house was short but quite loud; the two girls in the back seat chatting between them as Domino played music in the car. More nerd stuff, maybe? Listening in, she caught the words “-no, not Batman, SUPERMAN-”and yeah it was definitely more nerd stuff. Domino was surprised they still had nerdy topics to talk about. She was sure they’d have run out by now.

Pulling up further up the road from Tony’s house, she parked in the already packed street, and turned off the ignition.

“Alright, losers. Out.” She ordered, opening her door and stepping out into the cool, night air. The other two girls quickly followed suit, exiting the vehicle and closing the doors. Domino locked her car and pocketed the keys, before leading the way down the road to Tony’s house.

Music and laughter was pouring out of the windows, and Domino glanced back at her slightly more introverted friends to see what they thought. While they had shifted closer together slightly, excitement was glinting in their eyes as they gazed up at the house in awe.

It was massive. Three stories high, at least, with 2 garages. They were closed and locked because of the party, but Domino guessed there were very expensive cars inside them. Ferraris, maybe? Or maybe Lamborghinis? Porsches? It doesn’t really matter, she supposed. 

Faint splashing sounds echoed from the backyard. Of course they had a swimming pool, too. Oh, if only she’d brought her swimsuit…

“Hey! Domino! Guys! Over here!” A voice yelled from across the massive expanse of lawn. Wade bounded over holding Vanessa’s hand, with Piotr and Cable in tow. 

“Some party, huh?” He exclaimed, eyes shining.

“We haven’t even gone inside yet.” Piotr pointed out.

“Well, yeah, because we were waiting for these slowpokes to get here.” He said pointedly, prodding Domino with his free hand.

“You waited? Why? I told you not to.” Domino had to yell over the music and jeers as they approached the house.

“We wanted to make sure you came.” Piotr explained. “El doesn’t usually like parties.”

El swatted him on the arm and he chuckled in response, dodging out of the way to evade any further attacks. The house was beautiful on the inside, too. People were absolutely everywhere. Dancing, playing games, singing karaoke, drinking, kissing… How many people can actually fit in this house? It was really hot in here too; Domino pulled off her jacket once inside to try to cool herself down. Cable strode past them in the direction of what Domino assumed to be the kitchen.

“C’mon guys. Drinks this way.” He called over his shoulder. “I came to Tony’s last party. I assume it’s all in the same place it was last year.”

Everyone began following him to get an alcoholic beverage of some kind, probably punch or beer for the boys. Domino stood idly to the side and turned around in a slow circle, admiring the ornate furnishings of the house.

“Hey Domino! You coming?” Cable’s voice sounded beside her, and she turned to see him looking at her expectantly. Domino shook her head.

“Can’t drink. I’m the designated driver tonight.” Domino paused and tipped her head. “Do they have any soda or anything?” 

At Cable’s nod she shrugged and followed him and the others to the kitchen. El, Yukio, Vanessa and Wade already had their drinks and were chatting between them while Piotr was grabbing himself and Cable a beer. 

“Hey Piotr! Soda for Domino.” Cable shouted; the music was deafening in this part of the house. Piotr reached into a bucket of ice and pulled a can of lemonade out, before tossing it to Domino. She smiled and popped it open, taking a sip of the sugary drink. Domino watched Yukio take a sip of her drink, before she immediately pulled an ugly face of disgust, grimacing as she swallowed. El had apparently seen too, because she shook her head and took Yukio’s drink from her, before going off to get her some punch. She must’ve been drinking beer of some kind, then. Domino could hardly blame her for being disgusted; the stuff was gross. She didn’t understand how El drank it.

Yukio accepted her new drink with a soft smile, and El blushed lightly, taking another sip of her beer. Yukio’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she grabbed El’s hand before dragging her to a different part of the house. As they duo left, El turned and caught Domino’s eye. She looked slightly nervous, but happy, and Domino lifted her lemonade in a ‘cheers’ gesture to her friend before they disappeared around a corner and out of her sight. 

Domino turned back to her other friends, and Vanessa gave her a knowing look, also wearing a small smile. Domino shrugged and grinned back. They wouldn’t get themselves into too much trouble on their own. Maybe. Hopefully.

-+-

As the night wore on and people got drunker, Domino realised that she had no idea where the other two girls had gone. Pushing down a wave of worry and reminding herself that El could take care of herself, Domino sat on a couch situated in front of the karaoke stand, where Wade was currently making a fool of himself. He was, at the moment, badly singing ‘The Middle’ by Zedd, and Domino could barely stop herself from covering her ears to block out the dreadful noise.

Vanessa was watching him fondly, while Piotr and Cable guffawed with laughter at his performance, earning them both a sharp prod from Vanessa. Wade nearly fell off the stand in his drunkness, and swaggered back to Vanessa to sit next to her on the couch, squeezing in between her and Domino. 

Domino snorted and scooted over a bit to allow him to sit down. A buzz in her pocket alerted her to an incoming text from El.

3 new messages from: BEST FRANDDD <3  
1:29: I need to leave  
1:29: Can we go back to your place now?  
1:30: I really need to go now

Domino sat up straighter, her previous worries flashing through her, before shooting her a reply.

YOU:  
1:31: What happened?

BEST FRANDDD <3:  
1:31: Can we just go? I’ll walk if I need to.

Sensing the urgency in El’s messages, Domino sighed and rubbed her eyes, turning off her phone. Grabbing her jacket and checking she had her keys, she quickly stood to leave. She then turned to Vanessa, who had lifted her head to gaze at her curiously.

“If you find Yukio, could you tell her I’m taking El back to my place? I’ll come back to drop her home soon.” Domino asked in a rush. 

Vanessa looked confused, but nodded. Before Domino walked away, however, Vanessa tapped her on the back and said as quietly as possible “I’ll take her home myself. You can stay with El.” Concern shone in her eyes.

Domino nodded at her gratefully, waved goodbye to the others, and went off in search of her friend. Worry rose like bile in her throat. Oh god El, what happened this time to make you so panicked?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay yeah. I wanted to write a bit more, but I promised the chapter would come out tonight, and this one is actually longer than the other chapters, so I guess that makes up for it. Anyway, comment what you think of the story so far; this will definitely be one of the El perspective scenes I think some of you might enjoy, if you like Yukio/Negasonic stuff. I think this story has around 6, maybe 7 chapters? Just a rough guess. Probably totally wrong. I could finish it in the next chapter?? I guess we'll find out, won't we? Also. I'm using some other Marvel characters from the Avengers and such because it's more relevant than using random characters I make up, and it's kinda cool to see some cameos, dontcha think?


	8. You're Making A Ruin Of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor El. You'll be okay. You've got Domino!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from The Good In Me by Jon Bellion

Domino finally found El pacing the front porch of Tony’s house. She was swaying slightly and shaking her head, obviously intoxicated. Oh dear. That was never a good sign.

“Hey El,” Domino called as softly as possible to her friend. 

El grimaced and turned to face her. As soon as their eyes met, El’s eyes welled with tears and she swiftly stepped forwards to hug Domino tightly. Surprised and concerned, Domino hugged her back, before pulling away to examine her friend’s face carefully. El sniffed blinked back her tears.

“Can we go now?” She croaked, eyes pleading. Domino nodded and grabbed her friend’s hand, pulling her towards the dimly lit street towards her car. The walk there was silent, and worry gnawed at Domino’s consciousness. She glanced over at El. The girl was stumbling along numbly, head low and eyes blank, lost in her mind, it seemed. That was never a good place to be when you’re upset. Domino cleared her throat, and attempted to distract her friend.

“How was the party?” She asked softly; she wasn’t going to openly probe El for answers. Yet.

El snorted. “It was just great, Domino, that’s why I asked to leave early.” She snapped sarcastically. Domino winced at her tone.

“Wanna tell me what happened?” Domino offered, eyeing her friend carefully.

El shook her head, eyes dark. Domino’s worry grew.

“Did… someone hurt you? Or try to hurt you?” Domino pressed. Drunk guys were awful, sometimes. They have no sense of boundaries.

El shook her head again, looking tired. She sighed.

“I’ll tell you… in the car? Maybe?” El muttered and then let out a groan and tilted her head, pinching the space between her eyes. She was way too drunk.

“Okay.” Domino relented, turning her gaze back to the street, spotting her car slightly further ahead. Once they reached the vehicle, Domino pulled open the door for El, who slipped inside, before getting into the driver’s seat. Leaning over, she pulled a brown paper bag from the back of El’s seat and handed it to her. El blinked at it and raised her eyebrows, unsure of what to do with it.

“If you’re gonna vomit in my car, vomit in that.” She instructed, gesturing to the bag. El nodded and closed her eyes, leaning back into the soft upholstery of her seat with a sigh. Domino turned on the ignition and backed out of her parking spot, before driving off in the direction of her house. 

The ride was silent for a few minutes as El stared out the window, watching the houses go by idly. Domino coughed lightly, drawing her friend’s attention back into the car and onto her.

“Well?” Domino prompted. “What happened?”

El groaned and rubbed her eyes, but still didn’t answer. Domino realised she was being nosy and decided to stop prying.

“Hey if you don’t wanna talk about it now then- “

“We kissed.” El interrupted stiffly. 

Domino froze in surprise. What? Kissed? She and Yukio kissed? Domino remained silent, allowing El to continue speaking if she wanted to. The girl sighed and rested her head on the frosty window next to her.

“We were dancing. And drinking. Maybe we drank too much? I don’t know…” She sighed again. “And then this... this really nice, slow song came on and we danced together to that. And she was so close to me!” There was a pause as El gathered her thoughts. “I don’t really know which one of use initiated it.” She admitted, and a disgusted tone crept into her voice for her next words. “It was probably me. I couldn’t help myself. And then we were kissing, and then she pulled away and ran off.” El sank into her seat more, eyes full of despair. “I screwed it up.” She whispered, and covered her eyes. 

Her fingernails dug into her skull, and Domino reached over with one hand to pull El’s hands away from her face. 

“And the worst part is I-.” She groaned, clenching her jaw. “I thought she didn’t mind. I screwed up so bad. I just kissed her without her consent and I didn’t pull away. I just. Kept. Going! She probably hated it, and didn’t know what to do, and now she hates me!” She snarled in anger and frustration, drawing her hands into fists. Without warning, she lifted her hand and slammed it into her head with her closed fist, and she managed to get 3 good hits in before Domino could grab her hands to stop her from hurting herself.

El squirmed in her seat, and Domino hit the brakes before taking her full attention off the road to stare sternly at her friend, still clutching her hands. Angry tears flowed freely from her eyes, and she glared at Domino with a strange sort of ferocity. Then Domino realised the hatred in her gaze was not directed at her but at El herself.

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay…” She murmured, trying to soothe her distraught friend, who just snarled again, fighting against Domino and trying to regain her hands. “Don’t be mad at yourself. I’ll talk to Yukio and see what she says. I don’t think you intentionally kissed her without her wanting you to. Heck, maybe she did want you to but just got scared halfway through. That’s not abnormal. You were both drunk from the sounds of it. She’ll forgive you.”

The fury drained slowly from El’s body, and she sank back into her seat, apparently accepting Domino’s words, although not looking too pleased either way. She sniffed, her body trembling slightly, tears still running down her cheeks.

“I really liked her.” She breathed, screwing her eyes shut. “I really did. And now she thinks I’m some… freak.” Hanging her head, she turned away from Domino and curled in on herself. 

Seeing as no immediate harm was befalling her friend, Domino turned back to the road and continued driving back to her place. No words were exchanged between them as they drove the rest of the way, and as soon as she pulled into the driveway, El practically leaped out of the car and strode up the stairs to her front door, before leaning on the frame and waiting for Domino to follow.

Domino parked the car and locked it. Pulling out her keys, she unlocked the door and El slipped past her inside and upstairs to Domino’s room, muttering about getting changed. Domino sighed, hand pressed against her forehead; she understood El wanted privacy in this moment, but running away from her issues wasn’t going to help her.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and Domino saw she was getting an incoming call from Vanessa upon pulling it out. 

“Hello?” Domino answered the call wearily.

“Yukio’s missing. I can’t find her anywhere. Is she with you?” Vanessa's anxious voice drifted through the phone, and Domino's heart stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo does anyone actually listen to any of the songs I have as the chapter titles? I'm just curious. And yeah. I totally left this chapter on another cliffhanger. Guess you'll just have to bookmark it to see what happens next ehehe


	9. I'm weak, but what's wrong with that?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all pays off...? Chapter title is from Weak by AJR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super nervous about this chapter. It took me ages to write. I've had this one and the next one planned since pretty much the beginning of the story. Tell me what you think!

Domino’s heart stopped at the words. Missing? What’s that supposed to mean? Did she run off? The questions whirled around Domino’s mind as she considered her options.

“Have you called her?” Domino demanded.

“Yes of course I have. Twice. No answer.” Vanessa snapped in reply, sounded irritated at Domino’s stupid question.

Okay well, if she wasn’t answering her phone, maybe they could track it. 

“Does she have location services on? Can you find her with that?” Domino asked anxiously, trying to calm her tone.

“Already tried. She must have it off.”

Well, shit. That narrows down their options considerably. Uhhhh lets see…

“Search the house.” Domino instructed, pocketing her keys again.

“I already have. She’s not here.”

“Then search it again! The house is huge. You could’ve missed her.” Domino insisted.

Vanessa let out a soft growl of annoyance, and Domino heard her call out to Piotr, Wade and Cable, telling them to look again.

“They’re drunk. You search too. If no one can find her, I’ll drive back and see if I can find her myself.” Domino ordered.

Vanessa sighed, still sounding vexed by Domino’s questions and orders. “We aren’t blind or stupid. But fine, we’ll check again. If we don’t find her, I’ll call you and you can find her with your amazing detective skills.” Vanessa bit out sarcastically, but Domino could tell she was worried. A drunk girl going missing at a massive house party wasn’t good. With a quick goodbye, Vanessa hung up the phone to go searching for Yukio, and leaving Domino, mind spinning, to figure out what to do if the others couldn’t find her.

So busy fretting and biting her lip, Domino hadn’t heard Ellie walking down the stairs. 

“What’s wrong?” The girl asked, making Domino jump and spin around to face her, heart racing. El tipping her head to the side slightly. She had removed her makeup and was wearing her pyjamas-black pants and a yellow shirt- and was leaning on the barrister to peer down at Domino curiously. At first, Domino considered not telling her, but she had already noticed her friend’s hesitation, and she stepped forwards with eyebrows raised and arms crossed. “Well?”

Domino took a deep breath, bracing herself, before bursting out “Yukio’s missing. Vanessa can’t find her anywhere.”

El’s eyes widened, and a horrified look crossed her face. “What do you mean ‘missing’? Is she not at Tony’s?” She demanded bounding down the stairs to reach Domino. “Have they called her?”

“Yeah they have. She didn’t pick up.” Domino answered, her own anxiety creeping into her voice.

“Well get them to check the house again!” El exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in fear and anger.

“I just did.”

El ignored her, running her hand through her short hair, distress clear on her face. “She wouldn’t have just run off! And even if she did, she can’t have gotten that far, she’s drunk!” El began pacing agitatedly. “This is all my fault. If I just hadn’t kissed her, she wouldn’t have run off and we wouldn’t be worried right now.” She reached up with her hands to grip her head tightly, looking distraught. “I have to find her.” She rasped.

Domino quickly grabbed her hands before she could do something rash to herself like before, and stared at her friend sternly. El lifted her head to meet her gaze, pain and self hatred flashing in her eyes.

“It’s not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. Vanessa’s double-checking the house; if she’s still there, they’ll find her.” El didn’t look reassured, so Domino continued with a sigh. “If they can’t find her, I’ll go looking too. We’ll find her, El. Don’t blame yourself.” Domino reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her friend’s face. El leaned into her touch slightly, eyes closing. Her body trembled.

“If something happened to her, it’d be all my fault.” She whispered.

“No it wouldn’t.” Domino stated firmly. “Don’t say that. Besides, she’s a capable woman; she can take care of herself.”

“Not if she’s drunk.” El objected, opening her eyes to gaze at her friend tearfully.

Domino gave her a small smile. “Have faith in her.” She said softly, squeezing her friend’s hand with her other hand in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture. El just sighed snd leaned against Domino heavily, and Domino rubbed her friend’s back gently in return. Oh God, Yukio, where have you gone?

-+-

The two girls were sat curled up on the couch together. It had been almost half an hour since Vanessa had called, and Domino had gotten tired of watching El pace, so they had settled on sitting down to watch tv while they waited for further information from their friends. Neither girl was paying much attention to the tv, though.

When Domino’s phone buzzed, El lunged for it and snatched it up, answering Vanessa’s call instantly.

“Hello? Did you find Yukio? Is she safe?” Her questions came out in a rush, and Domino winced at the desperation in her voice. Please say yes, V. Vanessa’s reply didn’t seem good, though, from the way El’s shoulders drooped and the way her fist formed on the hand not holding the phone. 

“Uh-huh. We’ll be there in a minute. Bye.” She muttered dejectedly, shutting off the phone and tossing it into Domino’s lap, before leaping to her feet and straightening up, eyes determined.

“They couldn’t find her. Let’s go.” She took a few steps towards the front door, but Domino reached out to pull her back.

“El, you’re half drunk still and in your PJs. Go to bed. I’ll find her.” Domino insisted, standing too. The glare El gave her was frightening, almost enough to make her step down. When she didn’t, however, the girl curled her lip in a sneer, ready to deliver a stinging retort, when suddenly there was a burst of knocking at the door.

The two girls froze, staring at each other in shock. There was the sound of heavy panting coming from behind the closed door, and before either of them could move, the person knocked again.

“Hello? El? Domino? Anyone in there?” Yukio’s voice drifted towards them from behind the door, punctuated with ragged gasps for air.

“It’s Yukio!” El hissed, beginning to freak out. “What do I do??” 

“Answer the door, dummy!” Domino exclaimed, striding forwards to do just that. El just shifted from foot to foot nervously, biting the inside of her cheek. Opening the door, Domino found Yukio swaying slightly on her feet and panting loudly, exhausted but unharmed.

“Is El there?” She rasped, pushing past Domino, presumably to look for the aforementioned girl.

“Nice to see you too, Yukio.” Domino muttered, shooting a text to Vanessa telling her Yukio was okay. “El’s in the other room. Hiding from you, I suspect.”

“Shut up, Domino!” El’s sharp bark sounded from- wouldn’t you know it- the other room, before the girl slowly stepped into view, shoulders hunched defensively.

El and Yukio’s eyes met, and for a moment no one said anything. 

Then, simultaneously, they both burst out the words “I’m sorry.” A sudden shocked silence, and then “Wait what? You’re sorry? What for?” It was almost comical how in sync they were. Almost

“You first.” Yukio prompted after another moment’s awkward silence. El gulped, and a look of guilt and fear crossed her face before she nodded. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at Domino, who gave her a small, encouraging smile, before turning to look Yukio directly in the eyes.

“I’m sorry for kissing you.” The words came out hoarse and pained. “I didn’t mean to.” Yukio’s face fell slightly at her confession. Domino coughed lightly, encouraging her to continue before Yukio could get upst.

El’s face scrunched up in a grimace, her eyes squeezing shut. She took a few deep breaths, clenching her jaw. Domino could feel the panic inside her friend rising.

“I like you, Yukio. Like, really like you.” She finally forced out, eyes still screwed shut. “I have for… a long time. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable… I just… I’ve never liked someone like I like you. And now I’m scared I’ve lost you forever. When you ran off I… I wanted to follow you. I just panicked.” She took another deep breath. “I’m sorry I kissed you. Please forgive me, and then we can just let this go and move on. We’ll never have to speak of it again.” Her shoulders loosened once she had finished, and her eyes opened slowly. Her gaze was hollow and despairing, eyes glazed and glistening in the soft light. She breathed short and fast through her nose, and looked like she was about to have a full blown panic attack, but Domino couldn’t be prouder of her best friend.

Yukio meanwhile, had taken slow steps towards El, eyes filled with some strange emotion Domino couldn’t recognise.

“I’m sorry, too.” She murmured softly, and El lowered her gaze. “I didn’t mean to run off so rudely when you kissed me. I think I was just… surprised.” She paused, now face to face with El. Slowly, she reached up with her hand to lift El’s chin so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. “But I’m not sorry that you kissed me.”

El visibly stiffened, her body tensing all over. A mixture of emotions raged on her face, mingling together. Fear, hurt, surprise. 

Hope.

“I really like you, too, El.” Yukio continued slowly. “I never thought I stood a chance with you, though. That’s why it surprised me so much when you actually kissed me. You haven’t made me feel uncomfortable. Sure the situation wasn’t… ideal… but I was actually very happy when you finally kissed me. I just didn’t know what to do. I think I was also afraid that I might have been… exploiting your emotions or something, seeing as you were drunk.” Yukio smiled up at El softly, nervousness showing on her face; El stared back in shock.

“You like me?” She croaked out weakly.

Yukio giggled, wrapping her arms around El’s neck. “Of course I do, you big dummy.”

El’s face relaxed slightly, letting out a deep breath. Her face split into a small grin and she slowly brought her arms up to wrap them around Yukio’s waist in return. “So what do we do?” She asked quietly, tilting her head.

Yukio rolled her eyes, before leaning forward and capturing El’s lips in a soft kiss. Domino’s jaw dropped. When they parted, El let out a trembling breath and smiled at Yukio. “We could do that.” She breathed shakily, giving Yukio a small smile and leaning in for another kiss.

Domino squealed loudly, and the two girls' heads snapped around to look at her. Apparently, they had forgotten that she was there. Embarrassment washed over Domino.

“Oh, uh, sorry! You two keep… doing what you’re doing and I’ll uh… I’ll just head over here and call Vanessa. Tell her you’re good to stay here the night. Uh… right. You two… have… fun…?” Domino quickly ducked out of the room, not acknowledging the blushes that had spread across both girl’s cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote and reread this chapter like, 5 times. I'm no good at writing still, so forgive me for how bad it is.


	10. We could be beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some light-hearted fluffiness we've all been waiting for. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Roses by The Chainsmokers

The girls didn’t come upstairs to share Domino’s bedroom for the night, and Domino certainly didn’t go down to look for them. She didn’t really expect them to sleep in her room anyway, and Domino really didn’t want to interrupt any canoodling that might be going on between them, so she decided it was best to leave them to their own devices. She only prayed that they were sober enough to keep their clothes on so she didn’t come down in the morning and find them both naked.

Domino got out of bed at 8:37am, deciding to make them all a nice breakfast after all the shit that went down the previous night. All those tears and feels... They needed some good ol' food in their systems. 

Creeping downstairs and into the living room, she found El and Yukio (fully clothed) curled up on the couch together. Yukio had El’s arms wrapped around her torso, and was currently holding the other girl’s arms close to her body, a serene expression on her face, while El had rested her face against Yukio’s back, a similar look on her face. Biting her lip, Domino considered running upstairs to grab her phone and snap a photo of the two, but decided against it ultimately, slinking back out of the living room and into the kitchen. El would probably kill her if she found out. 

Domino poured two glasses of water, one for each of them, and swiped a pack of aspirin from the medicine cabinet. She set the water and the medicine on the coffee table in front of the girls, ready for when they woke up in case they were hung-over, which Domino suspected they might be.

Then, she slipped back into the kitchen to make that breakfast for them. Bacon and pancakes. Apparently, greasy foods were good to help ward off hangovers, so hopefully they didn't mind, and she hummed softly as she prepared the meal. Well, she knew El wouldn't mind. Pancakes were El’s favourite breakfast food; in fact, Domino had been the one to introduce her to them. 

Just to reiterate how sucky El’s parents were most of the time, Domino had recently discovered that El hadn’t ever tried pancakes before until just last year, when Domino had made some for breakfast for them after a sleepover. 16, almost 17 years without pancakes? How dare they? Apparently, they thought El hated sweet food, and so had never made any for her. She obviously didn’t hate sweet food, she just barely got to eat it because her parents THOUGHT she hated it; a vicious cycle indeed.

And so whenever El had come over to stay the night since, Domino had made the best, fluffiest pancakes possible, with whatever toppings El wanted. She was the greatest friend ever, she knew.

Domino had just finished cooking the last pancake when El, rubbing her eyes with one hand and holding Yukio’s with the other, shuffled into the kitchen with a yawn. She blinked at the meal Domino had prepared blearily. It seemed to take a moment for her to register what it was, because for a few moments she just stared at the plate of pancakes dumbly, before her eyes lit up and flashed Domino a grin.

“You’re the best, Dom.” El sighed, dragging the plate of pancakes toward herself, before picking it up (still with one hand, mind you, which was a stupid thing to do) and taking it over to the table. It balanced precariously in her hand, but managed to reach the table without any casualties; Domino sighed with relief. Yukio sat down in an empty spot, while El came back to the kitchen counter to help Domino bring the rest of the food over.

“I wasn’t sure what toppings you liked, Yukio, so I just got a tonne of fruits as well as El’s usual stuff.” Domino explained, placing the final plate, which was piled with sliced bananas, on the table, before sliding in the last empty seat.

“What’s El’s usual stuff?” Yukio asked, quirking an eyebrow at Domino curiously.

“Ice cream, maple syrup, strawberries and blueberries.” El supplied for Domino, pulling a pancake onto Yukio’s plate before getting one for herself.

Domino hummed, passing El the ice cream scoop and getting her own pancake, but with a side of bacon. She was more into savoury than sweet. Another area that she and El were different, she supposed.

Breakfast was light-hearted and enjoyable, and Domino, who had finished eating, was now stood at the kitchen counter making hot chocolate while El and Yukio fought over the last pancake. But not in the usual way. They were fighting in a more “You have it.”, “No you have it.” Kind of way. It was amusing, (and frustrating) to say the least, but eventually El halved the pancake between them, ending their fun. Or not.

Yukio finished her half quickly (geez that girl eats fast. You’d be surprised.) and was now eyeing El’s half. 

“Can I try some of the El Special?” Yukio asked pleadingly, leaning over to bat her eyelashes at El. El raised her eyebrows at Yukio, the forkful of pancake halfway to her mouth. The pause was all Yukio needed to swipe the pancake bite from the fork, before sticking it into her mouth easily. El gasped and snatched the now empty fork and the remainder of the pancake away, looking aghast. Yukio giggled and licked her lips.

“Tastes good.” She conceded, smiling. El still narrowed her eyes at the other girl in response, curling the pancake towards herself protectively. Domino bit back a laugh. Yukio gave Domino a sly wink, silently asking for help in stealing the rest of El's food.

Happy to oblige, Domino cleared her throat and called “Hey El! Hot chocolate is ready!” 

El turned to see, and in her moments distraction, Yukio dove for the last of the pancake, picking it up and stuffing it into her mouth before the other girl could react. El let out another gasp as she stared at her now empty plate. She threw Domino a look of complete betrayal.

“Traitor,” she hissed, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair grumpily.

“Awww I’m sorry El.” Yukio crooned, wrapping her arms around the sulky girl’s neck. “I’ll make it better, look.” And with that, Yukio pulled El into a gentle kiss. Domino made a quiet gagging noise at the PDA.

“Better?” She asked once they parted, ignoring Domino. El hummed her agreement, lacing their fingers together. Yukio leaned against El in return, eyes shining. It was disgustingly adorable.

“Get a room you two, honestly.” Domino groaned. “All this sweetness is gonna rot my teeth. After it makes me hurl.”

El opened her mouth to deliver a stinging retort, but Yukio cut her off before she could. 

“Thanks for breakfast Domino. And letting me stay the night.” She thanked her, quickly changing the subject before El could say anything. Domino grinned at her, while El snapped her mouth shut, offended at the interruption.

“Anytime, Yukio.” 

El huffed and crossed her arms again. "Is it Pick On El day, huh?" She complained. Yukio pouted and nuzzled up to her, and El rested her head on top of Yukio's. Domino eyed the two of them carefully. They were definitely more open about their relationship now. Would it be that way at school too?

“Are you two officially dating or what?” She asked, tipping her head at them. At the startled looks she got from both of them, she knew that neither of them had actually considered that yet. They exchanged a questioning glance, looking thoughtful.

“Well.” Yukio began, lacing their fingers together again. “I’ll do whatever El wants to do.”

El didn’t look entirely pleased with the decision being handed to her. She looked down at their entwined hands, eyes glazing with thought. Domino knew she was worried about school and her parents. She probably would want to keep their relationship on the down-low for the time being. However, to Domino's surprise, after a few moments, she squeezed Yukio’s hand and said softly “I’d like to date you.”

Smiling, Yukio gave El a kiss on the forehead. “That’s what I hoped you’d say.” She murmured, grinning softly. Turning to Domino, she added. “I guess we’re dating now.” 

El blushed and looked away, smiling. “I guess we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than usual, hope you all don't mind. I wanted this chapter to be a bit slower and explore the whole Yukio/Negasonic relationship a bit more. Hope you liked it.


	11. Will we ever get to the other side?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gals are officially together! Woo! Nothing could possibly go wrong now, could it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Die Trying by Michl.

Vanessa and the others showed up at Domino’s house at around lunchtime, claiming to be worried about the events of last night and checking on the girls, but in reality they probably just wanted food, and everyone knew Domino had a knack for cooking. (She was the best at everything, remember?).

Domino didn’t mind though, and stepped to one side to allow her friends to pile inside, smiling brightly. It was raining outside, she discovered, and her friends were slightly damp from waiting outside in the drizzle, so she ushered them into them living to dry off near the fire, which El had started for them. For some reason, El was slightly obsessed with fire. Domino jokingly called her a pyromaniac sometimes because she would strike matches and watch them burn almost up to her fingers before blowing them out, and repeat the whole process again and again. Domino wasn’t exactly sure why she did it, but it seemed to keep her entertained, and as long as she didn’t blow up the school or a ship or something, she was fine with it.

Domino took her friend’s coats off of them to dry on the coat rack, pleased to see that they had already considerately taken off their shoes instead of trekking mud through the house, that she would have to clean up in the off chance her parents might come home tonight

El and Yukio had been snuggled on the couch watching a movie before Domino had left to open the door, but now they were separated again and sitting straight backed and rather uncomfortable-looking, despite the guests only being their friends. Piotr and Cable took seats in the other two chairs beside the couch, seeming oblivious to the tension, while Wade and Vanessa sat down beside El and Yukio on the large couch. Wade, however, seemed to notice something was off between them, and raised his eyebrow at the two teasingly as he settled in his seat.

“What, did we interrupt something here?” He joked, but there was a glint of curiosity in his gaze as he looked at the girls. El and Yukio exchanged a glance, and Domino noticed Yukio give El a tiny nod. El took a deep breath, looking slightly apprehensive. 

Turning to her friends, she held her breath for what seemed to be an impossibly long time, before she finally burst out “Yukio and I are dating.”  
Silence. Everyone stared at them in surprise, and El hunched her shoulders, beginning to look defensive.

That was before Vanessa squealed softly and reached across to squeeze El’s hand in congratulations, beaming at her. “I’m so happy for you two.”

El relaxed slightly and accepted the gesture with a small smile of her own, looking grateful.

Cable however huffed in annoyance. “Finally.” He snorted. “I thought you were just gonna gawk at each other for the rest of eternity.”

El pulled a face and flipped the bird at him, but discreetly so that Yukio couldn’t see. Yukio apparently understood what was going on, however, because she elbowed her girlfriend lightly. “Be nice.” She chided, intertwining her fingers with El’s.

Piotr gave the two a delighted smile. “I am very happy for you both.” He rumbled in his thickly Russian voice, looking earnest. Aw. Always the soft, supportive one, Domino thought, grinning at him.

Wade hadn’t said anything yet, looking shocked as he gazed at the two girls in dumbfounded silence. El glared at him challengingly. 

“Got a problem, Wade?” She asked, eyebrows raised.

Wade spluttered, looking embarrassed. “I… It’s great! I’m happy for you guys! You’ll make a super cute couple.” Recovering some of his composure, his voice regained its usual snarky tone as he eyed the girls curiously, before adding mischievously. “I’m just surprised anyone would date you, Negasonic Teenage Warhead.” 

He leapt off the couch to avoid El as she lunged at him, trying to beat the crap out of him, Domino assumed. He danced out of range gleefully, letting out a bark of laughter (laughing in the face of DEATH), as El let out an annoyed snort and stood up to chase him down. 

The group listened in silence to the pair’s footsteps pounding around the house and the shouts of “Wade you get back here!” and “Come get me Negasonic!” as they chased each other. Eventually though, they heard a squeal of fright and a triumphant shout from El, before a loud ‘thwack’ sound echoed through the house, ending the chase. The hunter returned shortly after, victorious and looking smug, while Wade trudged after her resentfully rubbing his cheek. 

“You deserved that.” Vanessa commented as Wade sank down next to her, looking wounded. Yukio was looking confused, and leaned over to whisper “What was that about?” In El’s ear. El gave her a half-hearted shrug and an eye-roll in response. At Yukio’s frown, however, she murmured back “I’ll tell you later.”

Piotr and Cable were guffawing with laughter, wiping tears of joy from their eyes.

“You scream like a little girl!” Cable jeered, slapping Piotr’s arm as he pointed at Wade and shook with laughter. 

“You should have seen the look of pure terror when I cornered him.” El added, smirking. The rest of the room fell into a fit of laughter. Wade pouted, looking injured, but eventually joined in with their amusement, cracking a smile of his own when Vanessa showed him a photo of the hand print on his face. El could hit really hard when she wanted to.

She and Yukio had snuggled back up together on the couch, eyes shining. Yukio pecked El on the cheek, and the girl blushed, glancing down at their intertwined hands before resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, looking content. 

If only good things like this lasted forever.

-+-

It was three weeks since they had come out to their friends, and they were actually doing a pretty remarkable job at being discreet. So far, no one had even batted an eyelash in their direction. Or well, that’s what Domino thought, before one fateful Thursday.

Domino slipped through the halls of the school, Yukio and El at her right side; Wade, Vanessa, Cable and Piotr on her left. It was lunchtime, yet it was strangely quiet in the usually raucous hallways, and Domino felt a trickle of foreboding run down her spine. To make it worse, everyone they passed turned to stare at them as they walked by. El had noticed too, and had stepped closer to Yukio, and when Domino glanced at her friend, she could see the worry she felt reflected in her eyes. 

It wasn’t that Domino wasn’t used to people staring at her; a lot of people stared at her because of her unusual appearance. It was that they weren’t staring at her, but staring at El. Occasionally, as they passed, a person would point at them and start whispering to the person standing next to them. Okay, what the hell is going on?? 

Suddenly, El toppled forwards, and she would have landed flat on her face if Yukio hadn’t quickly grabbed her arm to steady her. A burst of laughter sounded from beside them, and after sparing El a glance to see if she was alright, Domino glared up at the person who had tripped her up.

Juggernaut.

He guffawed with laughter, his friend’s sniggering around him. 

“Oh sorry, I almost didn’t see you there, El.” He paused and regarded the girl with an ugly sneer. “What’s El short for anyway? It’s not Ellie, right? ‘L’ is short for ‘lesbian’, isn’t it?” His friends exploded into laughter around him, and some of the onlookers had a snigger at his joke, too. El, meanwhile, had gone as stiff as a statue, her face blank with shock and disbelief.

“What the hell are you talking about, dickhead?” Wade sneered from behind her.

Juggernaut tilted his head, and his face donned an expression of mock pity. “What, she didn’t tell you? You don’t already know?” His contemptuous gaze shifted from Wade to El, who still hadn’t moved. “Why don’t you tell them now?” Silence. Juggernaut’s lip curled into a sneer. “Okay then, I’ll tell them.” Raising his voice, he turned to address not only Wade but the entire hall. “Ellie Phimister, our feisty little friend here, is a dyke. A lesbian. Gay. Homosexual. Whatever you want to call her. And not only that! She’s dating sweet little Yukio here, isn’t that right, dyke?” He flashed El a triumphant look. 

Murmurs echoed around the halls, as the onlookers watched the groups glare at each other. 

“What are you talking about?” Wade repeated, but dismay was awakening in his eyes. El had been outed. But by who?

“Why don’t you ask your friend? A few Saturdays ago.” Juggernaut checked his phone. “1:07am. Tony’s house. Ellie Phimister was caught kissing the new girl, Yukio Kutsuna, in the corner of a room. She seemed to be kissing back, too.” Then, he held out his phone for the group to see. It was a video of Yukio and El sharing their kiss in a dark corner in one of the rooms in Tony’s house. Perv. Juggernaut retracted his hand. “1027 views on YouTube.” He added, sounding impressed. “Wow, you’re blowing up, El! How’s about a sequel video?” He waved his phone slightly in her direction for emphasis.

The girl hadn’t moved yet, but her breathing had slowly become faster, almost ragged, and she trembled ever so slightly. Domino could see the panic in her eyes, and beneath that, growing stronger, was a dark, smouldering rage. 

Juggernaut, meanwhile, seemed unfazed, and took a step closer to the furious girl. “I said how about it, dyke?” He growled in a low, threatening voice. El’s eyes burned into his and she stilled. Oh god. This was not good. 

Without warning, El lunged at Juggernaut with a ferocious, almost animalistic snarl, punching him across the face. Domino sprang forwards to grab her arms before she could hit him again, while Piotr wrapped his arms around the raging girl’s torso, dragging her backwards. Yukio and Vanessa stepped in between her and Juggernaut, speaking to her soothingly, but El wasn’t listening. She shrieked and desperately tried to free herself, eyes blazing. But the fight was already beginning to drain from her body as Piotr dragged her away as quickly as he could.

Juggernaut spat some bloody saliva onto the floor, glaring at El with rage in his eyes. Wade and Cable took up positions beside Domino, blocking his access to El. All of a sudden El stopped trying to escape, arms hanging limply by her sides. Piotr continued pulling her away, presumably somewhere more private where she could properly calm down. Then Domino heard a sob escape El’s body, and she threw a horrified glance at her friend. The girl was a mess; face red, hands covering her eyes and body shaking as she cried, pain and humiliation radiating from her body.

Anger formed a lump in Domino’s throat and she swallowed it down, turning back to glower at Juggernaut. He was clutching his mouth, but his lips curled into a sneer as he watched El and the others retreating. 

“That’s right, run away, dyke!” He jeered. Without thinking, Domino brought her fist back and landed a sharp blow to the bastard’s nose. His head snapped back at the punch and he let out a yelp of pain. Wade grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the bully before she could strike him again, giving her a serious look.

“Not now. El needs us.” Then, in a lower voice he added “We can finish him off later.” 

The rest of the people in the hall were stiff with shock, eyes wide as they stared at Juggernaut, who was trying to stop his now bleeding nose. No one said a word as Domino stalked off in the direction Piotr and El had disappeared, flanked by Wade and Cable. 

Finally finding the room that the others had taken El, she opened the door and stepped inside. Instantly, Piotr swung around to glare at her, mouth open as if he was about to tell her to leave, but he relaxed when he recognised who had entered the room, and beckoned her over with a jerk of his head. Domino nodded and slipped forwards silently to stand beside him. Cable closed the door quietly behind them and stood outside, making sure no one else came in. El didn’t need any more unwanted attention. 

Domino eyed her friend carefully, worry and anger flooding her body. She was sitting slumped against the far wall, ruined mascara leaving dark lines down her cheeks, her short hair mussed and clothes rumpled. She was leaning against Yukio, who was hugging with one arm and stroking her hair with the other soothingly. Vanessa, on her other side, had taken El’s hand, and was currently rubbing slow circles into the back of it, her eyes soft with concern. 

El’s eyes, on the other hand, were vacant, and she didn’t acknowledge the contact from either of the girls. She didn’t even look like she knew she was being touched. Her face was blank, and her breathing was slow, shuddering slightly. Domino doubted El knew that she had even entered the room. Domino cleared her throat quietly, and everyone’s eyes turned to her. Everyone except El’s.

“Boys, out.” She murmured softly, but in the silent room she might as well have screamed it. Wade and Piotr gave her a strange look, and Domino worried that they might refuse, but then Piotr inclined his head in a small nod at Domino, and he led Wade outside to join Cable. Vanessa stood slowly as well, giving Domino a grim look. 

“I’ll leave give you three time alone,” she murmured as she passed Domino, following the boys out.

Domino slid forwards so she was directly in front of El, and sat down across from her. She examined her friend’s face more now that she was closer. El still didn’t look like she was aware of what was going on, seemingly staring straight through Domino. Gently, Domino reached out and lifted El’s chin so she was looking up at her. Her eyes slid slowly up to meet Domino’s, but still held that strange vacancy. After a few moments, she finally managed to focus them enough to gaze at her friend somewhat steadily. 

Without warning, El’s face screwed up into a pained expression and she lunged forwards to bury her face in Domino’s shoulder, arms wrapping around her friend tightly. Domino slowly brought her arms up and around El’s body in return, and she rubbed El’s back in an effort to soothe her. Her heart ached at seeing her friend like this.

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered softly. El’s arms tightened around her. 

“It wasn’t your fault.” She muttered in reply, her voice muffled by Domino’s shoulder. 

“I’m not saying sorry because I think it’s my fault. I’m saying sorry because it shouldn’t have happened to you.” El dropped her arms from their embrace and Domino did the same; El sank back slowly, eyes hollow. She could tell her friend didn’t believe her. She was probably thinking this was exactly what she deserved.

Yukio squeezed El’s hand, eyes shining with tears at seeing her girlfriend like this.

“My parents.” El whispered hoarsely. “They’re going to kill me.”

Domino felt a surge of protectiveness wash over her. “If they say or do anything, text me and come to my house.” She instructed. “If you don’t arrive in 45 minutes, I’m coming to your house to get you.”

El let out a hollow chuckle, which ended with a rough gasp as she inhaled sharply, looking pained. She tensed, eyes dark. Domino didn’t want to imagine the things going through her friend’s head. Yukio brushed the tears from El’s face, leaning over to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. 

“I love you so much, El.” She whispered, gazing at El with soft eyes. “I just think you should know that. It’ll never change. I don’t care if people stare at us. Let them stare. I’ll only be looking at you. That’s all I need.” She gave her another kiss, and El leaned into her touch, her face scrunched up painfully as she choked on another sob.

“Domino?” Wade’s voice sounded from the door. 

“Not now.” She called back, eyes still trained on El’s pained face. 

“It’s Principal Xavier. He’s here to talk to you and El.” He explained.

Domino groaned internally. She’d almost forgotten that of course they had to talk to the principal, they’d just punched another student. 

“El?” Domino said hesitantly, but her friend was already standing. Yukio stood up too, and helped Domino get to her feet. Yukio slipped her hand into El’s, and the girl stiffened, but slowly she closed her fingers around her girlfriend’s in return.

All that Domino could think as she followed the other girls to the door was how thankful she was that El hadn’t shut the other girl out. The girl was tough, but she wasn’t the best at handling her feelings, and she had worried that she would shut down the problem instead of try to get through it, simply because she didn’t like how it made her feel. Then she remembered that she should never underestimate her best friend. 

She clenched her jaw stubbornly. No matter how tough El was, she would always be by her side to help her. And looking at her now, feet dragging in defeat, hollow eyes trained on the floor, she knew she needed her best friend now more than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooft. I've had the second half of this chapter planned for ages. I hope it's okay. I think I kind of ruined stuff with it, heh. And I was going so well, too! Almost 3000 words in this chapter though! Hope you all like it.


	12. I can't be everything you want me to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little chat with the principal. No big deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Gone by JR JR

Yukio held El’s hand all the way to Principal Xavier’s office. El, while she looked distinctly uncomfortable at the gazes of the other students, made no attempt to break their hold. Domino glared at every person she caught staring, like the good friend she was. The idiots quickly averted their eyes after that.

Upon entering the office, Domino suppressed a snarl of anger at seeing Juggernaut slouched in one of the chairs, his friends standing crowded behind him. He had an ice pack pressed to his jaw, and tissues stuffed up his nose to stem the bleeding Domino had caused when she had punched him. Satisfaction washed through her at the sight. The boy returned her hostile glare with just as much hatred when she slid in the chair next to his, blocking off any access to El, who took the remaining seat furthest from him.

Yukio, Piotr, Vanessa, Wade and Cable stood off to the side behind them both, and were all glaring at Juggernaut and his cronies as well. Principal Xavier sat in the big chair across the desk from them all, setting his arms on the table and eyeing the three students critically. Then, he sighed and sat back in his chair, making it creak slightly, before asking “Will someone please tell me what happened.” In a neutral tone.

Domino opened her mouth to explain when Juggernaut jumped in, seizing control of the conversation first.

“I was talking to Domino and Ellie, and, well, we had a… bit of a disagreement. Then, all of a sudden Ellie and Domino came at me and started throwing punches at me! I didn't even do anything wrong!”

Domino’s blood boiled at the blatant lying, and she opened her mouth to snarl an insult at Juggernaut, but Principal Xavier seemed to notice she was getting mad and held a hand up in her direction to silence her before she could speak. Domino snapped her mouth shut and slumped back in her chair, folding her arms and settling on glaring at Juggernaut instead.

“What were you… in disagreement about?” Principal Xavier prompted calmly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Juggernaut shift in his seat. It was Juggernaut’s turn to feel slightly uncomfortable, and he shot an angry glance in El’s direction, as if it was her fault they were in this mess. El was staring straight ahead, however, and had not caught his glare. Her eyebrows were drawn together in a frown and her lips were pursed, as if she was working something out in her head. Domino was distracted from examining her friend’s face when Juggernaut finally burst out his answer.

“Ellie kissed another girl and I didn’t agree with that. Girls shouldn’t love other girls, like boys shouldn’t love other boys.” He began angrily. “It’s a sin according to God, and she had no right to attack me for voicing my opinion! We have freedom of speech in this country!”

In the corner of her eye, Domino noticed Yukio flinch and draw back slightly, looking increasingly more upset. Domino wasn’t the only person to notice apparently, because then El whirled on Juggernaut with a ferocious glare. 

“And you have every right to be a homophobic, racist white supremacist who spreads hate with that free speech, is that right?” She snapped fiercely. “It’s because of people like you that people commit suicide because of bullying! Because you’re an entitled asshat and you abuse your freedom of speech to make other people feel like shit for being who they are! You have no right to determine the worth of someone’s life based on skin colour, religion, race or who they choose to kiss!” A stunned silence settled over the room at El’s outburst. She was glaring at Juggernaut with pure fury smouldering in her eyes, but she wasn’t finished yet. “And since when were you so religious? Last time I checked, you don’t care about anyone but yourself and are disrespectful and rude to anyone you don’t deem worthy, which goes against at least like, 2 of the 10 Commandments! So if you want to spout this ‘But God says –’ nonsense in my face, you better be a saint or get the hell away from me and not come back until you get a better argument. Or a life.” She sat back in her seat sharply, looking furious. Wade clapped quietly in the corner at her rant, before Cable elbowed him roughly in the side.

Principal Xavier was staring at El with wide eyes, either at her outburst or finding out she was gay. It didn’t really matter, Domino supposed, because then he cleared his throat and turned back to Juggernaut.

“Is this true? Where you making homophobic comments at Miss Phimister’s expense?” He tipped his head questioningly.

“He was.” Domino interrupted hotly. Principal Xavier held up his hand to silence her again, and she felt the overwhelming urge to slap it away from her.

“I want to hear it from him.” He insisted.

Juggernaut worked his jaw, seething at being caught out. Eventually, he mumbled. “I s’pose you could take it that way.” Before looking away and bouncing his leg, beginning to look nervous.

Domino stuck her hand in the air, lips pursed as she waited for her chance to speak. Principal Xavier blinked at her, looking unperturbed at her show of impatience, before giving her a curt nod. She immediately pointed her finger accusingly at Juggernaut. “Tell him to take the video down.” She demanded.

Still looking unaffected by her rude tone, Principal Xavier raised his eyebrow at Domino questioningly. “What video?”

“A video of... El kissing another girl. He posted it to humiliate her.” She explained. “Tell him to take it down.” 

Principal Xavier turned a stern look on Juggernaut. “Take it down.” He ordered. 

Juggernaut curled his lip, looking ready to object, but paused when the principal gave him a hard stare. “Fine.” He snarled out, crossing his arms angrily. Principal Xavier nodded, looking satisfied.

“Is there anything else I should know?” He asked, his gaze sweeping the crowd of students. When no one else spoke up, he nodded again. “Right. Then you three I need to talk to a little bit more, the rest of you can head outside for the remainder of lunch.” He instructed. The students dipped their heads politely, before filing out of the office.

Once everyone had gone, he turned back to look at the three students before him seriously. “I will not tolerate bullying at this school.” He began firmly. “Take the video down, Mr Marko, and leave these girls alone, or else there will be further punishment.” He instructed, his gaze resting on Juggernaut. The hulking boy ducked his head in a 'yes' motion, the ghost of a sneer still present on his lips. At his confirmation, Principal Xavier waved his hand in dismissal. “Good. You’re free to go for now. I will be calling your parents later.” Juggernaut snorted and stood to leave, giving Domino and El a harsh glare as he walked out. 

Triumph flashed through Domino, but it was quickly snuffed out when Principal Xavier shifted his stern gaze onto her. “I will have to put this incident on both of your records.” He announced. Domino lowered her gaze. Her parents would not be happy. El's parents would be even less so.

“I will also have to call both of your parents.” He went on. Domino saw El stiffen in the corner of her eye. “I will be informing them of what has happened. I will negotiate with Cain’s parents to have them not press any charges of assault, probably in exchange for not putting this incident of bullying on the record.” When Domino’s jaw dropped in outrage, he continued smoothly. “This is because you both punched him. But bullying does not look good on college applications. I’m sure Cain’s parents won’t press charges if I tell them this. Assault is, however, quite serious, too.” He paused, eyeing El, who was gazing at the floor with hollow eyes, not listening, it seemed. Principal Xavier’s tone softened slightly. “Perhaps I will not put this incident on the record either. You’re both good kids, and the circumstances in which the event went down aren’t… ideal. I cannot promise it, but I will try to keep you both clean.” He sighed, looking tired all of a sudden. “You will however be suspended for three days, as in the usual discipline practices.” The two girls nodded, and Domino was itching to leave so that she could talk to El more now that that was settled, beginning to shift impatiently. 

Principal Xavier seemed to notice her eagerness, as he gave her another curt nod. “Okay. You two girls are dismissed.”

As El stood to leave though, he stopped her and added “And Miss Phimister?” She blinked at him slowly, looking apprehensive. The principal smiled at her however, and continued. “Well spoken.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are okay with the direction this fic is turning. As you can probably guess, El is going to be confronting her parents in the next chapter, and that will be the beginning of the home stretch of the story.


	13. Where will you be waking up tomorrow morning?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El confronts her parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Domino is the best friend everyone wants. El's parents are the worst people everyone hates. Like, the Professor Umbridges of this story. Chapter title is from Miss Jackson by Panic! At The Disco.

El and Domino had packed their school bags and were now walking slowly towards the exit of the school. They were asked to leave school after the ‘attack’ and wait out their suspension before returning to school on the following Tuesday. Juggernaut was allowed to leave school too to ‘recover’, but he hadn’t taken the offer, insisting he was fine. He had taken two hits directly in the face from two girls who practised mixed martial arts, but yeah sure, he was fine. Domino didn’t really care about the state of that asshole’s face, though, she was more concerned with the expression on El’s face. She was silently slipping through the empty halls at Domino’s side, head down and eyes troubled.

They hadn’t spoken a word since leaving Principal Xavier’s office, and El was currently biting the inside of her cheek fervently. She looked incredibly anxious about meeting her parents, and rightly so. They had suggested using eugenics to remove all homosexual’s in America, after all. 

Domino held out her hand to El in a silent offer of comfort, and after a moment’s hesitation, the other girl slipped her hand into Domino’s. Since she had begun dating Yukio, she had become loads more affectionate, Domino had noticed, but only with small things, like hand holding. She was always holding Yukio’s hand or holding it out for her. So Domino thought she might prefer this silent comfort than a hug or something.

It wasn’t silent for long however.

“Can I just come to your place now?” El asked, voice terse and unhappy. “I don’t even have to talk to my parents. I already know what they’re going to say.”

Domino felt a flash of anger, not at El but at her parents. How could they make their daughter feel like she was hated like she did? Domino snorted. The older generations don’t get anything these days. They can’t accept that people are changing and so is society’s standards. It was honestly primitive that they didn’t accept gay people. It’s time to move on. Spreading hate and fear is supposed to be a thing of the past. What happened to basic human rights? El’s parents didn’t even have a religious standing either! They’re just homophobic! 

Realising she hadn’t answered El’s question, Domino shook her head slowly. “I know your parents suck at being understanding and that you don’t want to face them, but I think you should.” She paused, mulling over her options. “Hide your phone in your shoe and say you left it in your locker. Then, if things go bad, run up to your room and text me… the letter ‘d’. Then I’ll start a timer for 45 minutes, and if you aren’t at my house by then, I’m coming to get you. If things are alright and you don’t need to come to mine, text me the letter ‘k’, alright? Sound like a good plan?”

El didn’t look happy at her plea being denied, but she nodded slowly, accepting the plan.

Domino didn’t really want to drive to El’s place to pick her up if she was having a fight with her parents; they already hated her because she wasn’t white. Domino might argue that El’s parents were just as bad as Juggernaut, but while they frequently showed their distaste of her, they didn’t attack her for it. She was pretty sure they pitied her. ‘Oh you poor, black person. Such a shame you were born the wrong colour!’ Ugh. Just thinking about it made Domino’s blood boil.

She quickly gave El a hug before they separated to go to their respective houses, wishing her friend luck and waving at her as she walked away. El gave her a half-hearted wave in response, eyes glazed with thought. She was probably thinking about what she was going to say to her parents. Watching El disappear around the corner, Domino felt a wave of worry for her friend wash over her. She really hoped she would be okay with her parents. But, knowing her parents, she also knew it probably wouldn’t be okay.

-+-

Sadly, this appeared to be exactly the case. Not two hours after Domino had walked through her front door, she received a text from El. Considering her house was 30-45 minutes walk from school depending on how fast you want to travel, she knew that El must’ve taken the long way around, and ended up in a massive fight with her parents.

1 new message from: BEST FRANDDD <3  
4:37: ddddd

Oh, yeah. Big fight. Domino sighed, switching to the clock app to set the timer. You’ve got 44 minutes, 47 seconds to get here, El. Then I’m going hunting.

The wait was excruciating. Domino checked the clock practically every 2 minutes. Groaning, she jumped to her feet to find something to do. Maybe she should get ready for when El arrived. Nodding to herself, she busied herself with inflating her friend’s mattress, fetching clean sheets and pillows and starting to make dinner. Spaghetti goes well with family drama, right? Yeah. She also put some water on the boil to make some hot chocolate for El’s arrival. Checking the clock, El still had around 18 minutes to get to her house before she was due to fetch her. 

Domino drummed her fingers on the marble bench top impatiently, worry rising like bile in her throat. She really didn’t want to confront El’s parents. What would she say? ‘Hey, I’ve come to steal your gay daughter from you.’? Shaking her head as if to remove the thoughts from her mind, she wandered aimlessly around the house, fluffing up pillows and pulling out blankets for El to get wrapped up in if she felt like it. God she was like a mother. She didn’t mind all that much though, seeing as El deserved a proper family.

Thunder boomed outside and Domino jumped slightly at the loud noise. It was going to rain soon, it seemed. Hurry the hell up, El. The timer only had 7 minutes left. She pulled her jacket on in preparation for her expedition to El’s house, steeling her nerves. This proved not to be very effective, as when the doorbell rang she nearly leapt out of her skin.

“Domino?” El’s quavering voice sounded from behind the door.

Domino darted forwards to unlock it, stepping aside to let El in. The girl instantly threw her arms around her friend, and she let out a sob.

“Hey shhhh… It’s okay…” She squeezed her friend tightly. Her eyes slid to the side, where the mugs of hot chocolate were sitting. “I made hot chocolate if you want some?” Domino offered, leaning back to examine El’s face, still holding onto her. Upon seeing her red, tear-streaked face, Domino realised that offering that wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had, but El nonetheless let out a watery laugh and nodded, releasing Domino from their embrace and rubbing her eyes.

Domino took her friend’s backpack from her and took it upstairs to her room, leaving El to settle down a bit in the living room with her chocolate drink. When she returned downstairs, El had already taken off her jacket and shoes and curled up on the couch with her mug, watching the flickering of the fire she had apparently just started. Pyromaniac.

Domino settled down beside her, waiting patiently for El to tell her what had happened. The glow of the flames was reflected in El’s glazed eyes as she stared absently into the fireplace, sniffing every so often. Domino went to fetch a box of tissues.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She offered gently, handing her friend the tissue box, which El accepted gratefully and used to dry her eyes and blow her nose. She nodded and tossed the tissues onto the table, mumbling about cleaning it up later. Then, she sat back with a sigh, closing her eyes.

“My parents said exactly what I knew they would. They were… disgusted. And angry. And demanded who ‘turned me’. They said ‘We’re pulling you out of school!’ blah blah…” She shrank backwards, a pained expression on her face. “They wanted to send me to a gay conversion camp.” 

Domino tilted her head with a frown of confusion. “What’s that?”

“A place where parents send their ‘confused children’ to get fixed because they’re gay.” El bit out, looking hurt and angry. Domino let out a soft ‘oh’ sound, her frown deepening. El’s parents really were the worst sometimes. El looked so goddamn miserable in this moment. She thought her own parents hated her. Just how could someone do that to their child?

“So what are you going to do?” She asked hesitantly, pushing her own angry thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being.

“I told my parents I wasn’t going to go. I wouldn’t let them send me away.” El’s voice quavered, and she swallowed hard before continuing. “They said they weren’t going to have any ‘dirty fags’ under their roof, and I said that I’d leave then. They told me I wasn’t allowed to come back if I stepped foot outside the house. So… I left.” She hung her head, a whimper escaping her throat. “And now I can’t go back.”

“They disowned you?” Domino breathed, shock pulsing through her.

“I guess so.” El croaked, covering her eyes. Her chest was beginning to heave, and when she uncovered her eyes, Domino could see she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Or a panic attack. Or both. “What do I do??” She suddenly wailed, gripping her head tightly, digging her nails into her skull as she breathed heavily. “God I hate myself. If only I wasn’t such a freak. Then my parents wouldn’t hate me and we wouldn’t have gotten suspended and I wouldn’t be basically homeless right now.” She raged, pulling her short hair.

“Hey! Don’t hurt yourself.” Domino grabbed her friend’s hands, pulling them away from her head for what must be the hundredth time. El tore her hands free, a wail throbbing in her throat as she shook her head and scrambled away, eyes wild with pain and self-hatred. Domino stood up to follow her, worry flooding her body at El’s seemingly manic outburst. 

“Listen to me, El, you’re not a freak. Being gay doesn’t make you a freak.” El burst out in wretched laughter, tears flowing down her face as she backed away slowly. 

“El, stop it. Breathe. It’s okay. I’m here.” Domino edged her way towards El slowly, approaching her with her hands out. El gripped her head again tightly, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. 

“This is all my fault! I should’ve kept it secret! But I couldn’t help myself!” She suddenly dropped her hands from her head, and Domino slid forwards to take them in her own, trying to ground her friend in reality again. El sobbed, humiliation and anger radiating from her body. Her legs suddenly buckled, and Domino had to lunge forwards to prevent the other girl crashing onto the floor. 

“I’m sorry, Domino.” El whispered. “Domino, I don’t know what to do. I have no where to go.” She buried her face into Domino’s shoulder, misery replacing the anger in her tone.

“You can live here.” Domino stated instantly, almost without thinking. “With me.”

El gave her a stricken look, looking increasingly more upset. “I can’t do that! What about your parents? They – “ 

“-Would be happy to let you stay here as long as you need.” Domino insisted. “I think they always liked you better than me anyway.” She added as an afterthought, giving her friend a small smile, noticing the panic fading from her friend’s eyes.

“I don’t…” She began, eyes troubled.

“They’ll be fine. I promise.” She assured her. They had slowly slumped onto the floor, and Domino was holding El’s limp body close to her own as the girl took deep breaths to steady herself. El leaned into the embrace, and Domino stroked her hair slowly, as El’s breathing deepened and she relaxed against her.

It was a minute or two before El eased herself out of Domino’s arms, rubbing her eyes. Domino stood and extended her hand to the other girl to help her to her feet. They both walked back to the couch and settled into it again. El’s eyes were glassy, and she had hiccupping breaths every so often, but she had calmed down greatly already. Domino shifted, thinking carefully as she eyed her friend.

“You know…” She began slowly, tilting her head slightly. “It’s like what I said. Sometimes the family you’re born with isn’t right for you. Sometimes you need to look for your own family.” She paused, watching El rubbing her red eyes. “I’m glad we found each other.” This made El stop, dropping her hands into her lap as she turned to look at Domino. Then, a small smile appeared on her face and she nodded slowly.

“I’m glad we found each other, too.” She replied softly. 

Domino beamed at her, then opened her phone and went into messages. 

“What are you doing?” El asked, peering at her curiously. 

“I’m telling Yukio to get her ass over here for dinner so that she can kiss you. You’ve had a shit day but Yukio’ll make it better.” Domino answered, not looking up. El snorted, sinking into the sofa, but didn’t object. Domino grinned to herself when Yukio replied. 

YUKIO:  
5:42: I’m on my way. Tell El to prepare herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I found it quite difficult to write. So, yeah. El's homeless now, but she's found a new family in Domino and Yukio and the gang. Way better than her shitty parents, anyway. This marks the beginning of the end, my friends. Expect this story to end in a few chapters, heh. Also, this would also be an El-perspective chapter if I decide to do that too. She has gotten way ooc, but I did that because in the real world, I wanted her to be slightly more realistic, and realistically, a gay teenager with ultra homophobic parents is bound to be insecure. Tell me what you think of the story!


	14. X Gon' Give It To Ya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El settles in at her new home, and finds some unlikely support at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from X Gon' Give It To Ya by DMX.
> 
> SWEARING UP AHEAD!!

Yukio was at Domino’s place in a matter of minutes. She burst through the door, slightly damp from running from her car to the house in the pouring rain, and instantly darted to El’s side. El stretched out her arms and Yukio practically jumped into them, wrapping her girlfriend up in a tight embrace and showering her face with kisses. El let out a soft ‘Mmf!’ of surprise, but didn’t protest, burying her face into Yukio’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Yukio asked, pulling away slightly to study El’s face. El looked a little bit flustered at her girlfriend’s affection, but nodded nonetheless, eyes shining slightly as she gazed into Yukio’s searching eyes. Gosh they were cute. While Yukio fussed over El, Domino decided to take her leave and finish up preparing dinner. Spaghetti: ready to go.

The two girls were practically glued together at the dinner table, and were even sharing the same seat. They were currently feeding each other pasta, and Domino twisted her fork, awkwardly tapping the table and feeling like a massive third wheel. (How dare they do this to her in her own house!?)

Eventually, they calmed down a bit on the PDA and the trio were able to share a pleasant evening filled with quiet chatter and laughter. The day had been a massive rollercoaster of emotions, but it seemed that El was doing okay at the moment with Yukio, so Domino was content to wash up the dishes while El and Yukio snuggled on the couch. They were an infuriating cute couple.

They were watching ‘Brother Bear’ together, Yukio lying against El, the latter with her arms wrapped around the other girl and her chin rested on her girlfriend’s head. They would giggle and comment on the movie every so often, and Yukio would occasionally kiss El’s cheek. 

Get a room, honestly. 

El’s cheeks would hilariously turn a fiery red whenever her girlfriend did this, however, and after a while, Domino began to wonder if the girl was purposefully winding her girlfriend up. At Yukio’s small, self-satisfied smirk, Domino believed her suspicions to be confirmed true, but didn’t say anything in case El attacked her or something. She merely washed the dishes in the kitchen, quietly observing the couple from the other room. She wasn’t going to intrude on that.

When it was time for Yukio to go home, though, El let out a soft cry of protest, jumping up and holding her girlfriend’s hand as they walked to the door. They shared a brief kiss at the door, and Yukio called out a quick ‘Bye! Thanks for dinner!’ to Domino, before shutting the door and running back to her car. Domino heard El let out an affectionate sigh, and the girl wandered into the living room, where Domino had finally sat down, looking slightly dreamy. Domino laughed at El’s expression, prompting the other girl to blush and launch a pillow in her direction.

“Sorry! Yeesh you can’t expect me not to laugh when you’re mooning over her like that. You look like you’re about to start singing to animals or something like you’re in a Disney movie.” Domino defended herself, ducking for cover.

El snorted but didn’t respond to her comment, changing the subject instead. “Are you sure your parents will let me stay?” She asked, worry creeping back into her voice as she plopped back on the sofa next to Domino.

“Yeah, they’ll be fine.” Domino reassured her friend, lazily rolling over to look at her. El’s eyes glistened worriedly, and she chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment before giving her friend a nod.

“Okay… if you’re sure. If not, I might stay at Yukio’s.” El too rolled over so they were now facing each other. “Thanks again for… everything.” She added softly as an afterthought.

“’s no problem.” Domino yawned. “You’d do the same for me.” El nodded immediately. Her eyes were losing some of their worry, but she still looked thoughtful. 

“Are your parents basically adopting me?” El asked.

Domino paused, thinking. “I guess, in a way.” She conceded.

Silence.

“So are we basically sisters now?” El sounded curious, if not a bit nervous.

Domino gave her friend a lopsided grin, reaching over to push a lock of stray hair out of her face.

“Weren’t we always?”

-+-

Returning to school the following week was… interesting, to say the least. Aside from the obvious stares the two of them got walking the halls of the school, there was almost an air of awe surrounding the people who turned to look at them. Needless to say, they were getting a lot of attention.

El had a stoic expression on her face as she strode down the hall, chin up and jaw clenched, almost daring someone to approach her and say something stupid. Domino was beginning to get annoyed at the round-eyed looks they were getting, and glared at anyone gazing in their direction to get them to stop. It was a very effective manoeuvre. El rounded the corner to reach her locker and almost collided with Yukio.

“Ah! You’re here!” Yukio exclaimed excitedly, giving her girlfriend a hug, ignoring the looks it received.

“It’s a legal requirement.” El grumbled in response, but returned the hug, apparently deciding to ignore the stares, too. Domino glared at everyone for her, and soon pretty much everyone had cleared out of the hall, looking nervous, until there was only Peter Q’s group and another group Domino didn’t recognise remaining. They didn’t appear to be paying their group much mind, however, so she turned her attention back to her friends.

Wade, Piotr, Cable and Vanessa were all waiting behind El, and all stepped forward to greet the two of them once Yukio finally released her girlfriend.

“You look peppy.” Wade commented, nodding in greeting to them both. “You’ve been the talk of the school for days.”

Domino curled inwardly. What had people been saying? Not that she cared, of course. That much.

As if noticing her uncomfortable expression, Wade hurried on. “It hasn’t been all bad. A lot of people were really glad you did what you did. You were like, social justice warriors, but in real life and not on Twitter.”

Domino tilted her head curiously. “Is that a good thing? What is that even supposed to mean anyway?” She snorted, but her discomfort was beginning to fade.

“It means you stood up for a lot of the little people when you stood up for yourselves.” Vanessa cut in, giving El a quick embrace before turning to Domino to repeat the gesture. “Not everyone is brave enough to punch their bullies. Especially when the bully is twice their size. Someone recorded the incident and posted it on YouTube. It got even more views than… the other video before Xavier shut it down.” She added, referring to El and Yukio’s kiss video. “You two aren’t the only gay people in school, either, apparently. Two other people came out after the video was posted. No one knows who they are because it was anonymous commenting, but they confirmed they went to the same school.”

“Really?” El’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Yes. Is good thing you showed people that homophobia is not tolerable in today’s society.” Piotr chimed in, giving the two girls an approving nod.

“It’ll be an interesting prom, that’s for sure.” Wade conceded. “The school says it’s against the rules to have a same-sex couple at prom, but there might be three. If the two people from the video might get dates, and you two decide to go. I wonder how the school will react to that?”

“Prom??” El’s voice went up on octave in surprise, and she coughed before continuing. “I thought we weren’t going.”

“Maybe you should.” Cable spoke up. Everyone turned around to look at him in surprise. He never talked, and certainly not about prom. “I mean, you’re the first and currently only official same-sex couple at this school that we know of. Going to prom together would make a statement. Maybe then people wouldn’t be so afraid of coming out, or people would see that… I don’t know… love is love?” He broke off awkwardly, folding his arms defensively against his chest and looking away.

“I think that sounds great!” Yukio exclaimed, clapping her hands. Upon seeing El’s startled look, she lowered her voice and ventured tentatively. “Of course that’s just if you want to go, too.” She ducked her head, blushing. 

El’s eyebrows deepened into a frown. “You want to make a statement?” She grimaced, as though imagining going already. That’s understandable, though. She had only just come out, not only to her parents but the whole school. Already talking about being lesbian justice warriors seemed a bit too far for her liking.

But Yukio shook her head, her blush darkening. “I’d like to go with you. To prom. Not to make some statement, but because we’re dating and I like you and I want to dance with you and… stuff. As a normal couple. ‘Cause that’s what we are. There’ll be loads of couples at prom. Can’t we just be one of them?” She trailed off uncertainly, looking away. El looked surprised for a moment. Then, a small smirk appeared on her lips and she reached out to take Yukio’s hand.

“Are you asking me to prom?” El asked teasingly.

Yukio nodded bashfully, smiling nervously, as though El might possibly say no. Idiot.

“I accept.” El smiled down at her girlfriend, drawing her closer so they were standing beside each other, hands entwined.

“You’re going to be at prom?” A new voice cut into their conversation, coming from behind the group. Turning, they saw a tall, dark-haired boy surrounded by his similarly tall friends staring at them. The one who had spoken curled his lip in disgust. “I don’t want to see any of that. If you’re going, then I’m not.”

Domino opened her mouth, anger building up inside her, ready to tell this eavesdropping little asshole to piss off, but someone else beat her to it.

“Then don’t go. We won’t miss you. I daresay it would be better without you.” A low voice snarled from beside them, and everyone turned their surprised eyes to look at who had spoken. Was everyone listening to their conversation? Yeesh, people need to mind their own business. Still, Domino was alright with anyone willing to stick up for her friends stay around.

The person who had spoken was, to everyone’s astonishment, Nebula, who was standing beside her sister and their friends. She had a similarly disgusted look on her face as she glared at the boys. Domino was shocked. The girl had quite the reputation. She wasn’t a bully or anything, she was just notoriously intimidating, and usually kept to herself. Why she would involve herself in something like this was beyond Domino. Once the boys regained their composure, the boy who’d spoken out (Domino was gonna call him Richard, cause, y’know, what a Dick), stepped forward boldly.

“I don’t care what you say, fag-lover.” He snarled. “Girls kissing other girls is disgusting, and should be kept away from the rest of society who doesn’t want to see it.” Nebula narrowed her eyes dangerously, and took a step forward, flanked by the rest of her friends. Peter Q squared up beside Gamora, Nebula’s sister, while the two tall boys Domino thought she remembered being nicknamed ‘Drax’ and ‘Groot’ cracked their knuckles behind them. A scrawny, dark-haired boy, called Rocket by his friends (apparently he had made an explosive device out of a toaster once) and another girl some assholes called Mantis because she had glasses that made her eyes look big, stood off to the side, faces scrunched up in anger and disgust. 

Nebula continued to take slow steps forwards, dark brown eyes smouldering from beneath her thick lashes, until she was stood directly in front of Richard. Oh goodness, Domino really didn’t want to get suspended by another punch-up. She glanced over at El, who was standing beside Yukio rigidly. The girl was staring at the confrontation with eyes wide with surprise. Nebula then jerked her shaven head to the side, snapping the fingers of her bionic arm (did I mention she had a bionic arm? Cool as hell, right?? No one really knows how she lost her arm, but she’s looked like a badass ever since her rich dad upgraded her prosthetic to a bionic arm). Then she looked exaggeratedly over to her other side, her eyes trailing lazily of the walls.

“What are you doing?” Richard asked, surprise and suspicion darkening his gaze as he glanced over to where she was looking. There was nothing there.

“I was just looking for some fucks to give.” She drawled, gaze flicking back up to Richard’s face. “Sorry, I couldn’t find any. Who cares who kisses who? And you’re certainly not all of society. I know of lots of people who are okay with it. So I guess you’re gonna have to leave, Ronan, or there might be a teensy bit of trouble.” She smirked, and her and Domino’s groups straightened up to glare at the boy, who’s name was apparently Ronan and not Richard, and his group challengingly. As though sensing the threat, Ronan took a step back, disgust and anger warring for dominance on his face, before backing away from the infuriated girl.

He swung around to glare at El. “This isn’t over.” He spat.

El curled her lip. “I think it is.” She replied coolly, lifting her chin.

Ronan snorted and turned away, walking down the hall, his cronies trailing after him. Once they disappeared around the corner, Nebula relaxed slightly, turning to glance over at El.

“Tell us if they give you more trouble.” She instructed crisply, straightening up. El nodded mutely, eyes still wide with surprise. Nebula, looking satisfied, turned to saunter away down the hall haughtily, eyes sharp. Her friends fell in step behind her, looking almost as surprised as El. Nebula’s sister, Gamora, gave Domino an awkward smile, nodding to her and her friends as she left.

“We’re with you in this. Seriously, tell us if there's anything we can do to help you.” She said kindly, before trotting to catch up with Peter and her sister, nudging the other girl with her shoulder once she reached them.

Wade summed up everyone else's thoughts in the moment perfectly.

“What the shitsticks was that??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys don't mind the delayed chapter, I've had assessments all week and I've got even more coming next week. It's certainly quite stressful, but I've been writing a bit more of this chapter every day to wind down. Hope it's not too bad. Tell me what you all think. Your comments absolutely make my day!


	15. It's a revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Revolution by Diplo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> El is a Mockingjay

As the days passed and the date of prom drew closer, Domino noticed El becoming increasingly more anxious. They hadn’t asked Principal Xavier about the prospect of same-sex couples going to the prom, and it seemed to be weighing heavily on El’s mind.

She and Domino were currently sitting at their dining table together, working through a load of math and science homework. Well, Domino was. El was actually biting her lip and scrolling through her phone. What was she looking at? 

Not wanting to intrude, Domino let her friend’s distraction slide, powering through polynomials like a boss on her own. If being a boss meant checking the answers after every question because she had literally no idea what the hell she was doing.

El dropped her phone on the table with a huff of annoyance, picking up her pen and scribbling down her answers easily. She always was better at math than Domino was. Then, a few minutes later she apparently got bored of math, tossed her pen behind her and picked up her phone again, frowning as she typed something into it. She chewed her lip again, looking anxious as she swiped her phone screen.

Eventually, Domino let her curiosity get the best of her and tossed her pen behind her too, rapping her knuckles on the table to get El’s attention. The girl didn’t react immediately.

“What?” She growled eventually, dragging her eyes from her phone to look into Domino’s eyes.

Domino frowned at her friend’s grumpy tone, but didn’t comment. “What are you looking at?” She asked instead, tilting her head to look at her friend.

El hissed through her gritted teeth, looking frustrated. “Nothing.” She snapped back, turning her gaze back to her phone. Domino’s frown deepened, but she didn’t venture further with her questions. El, feeling Domino’s gaze on her apparently, snapped her head up to glare at her. When Domino only raised an eyebrow, she let out an annoyed sigh, but relaxed her tense posture.

“I’m looking at dresses.” She finally bit out, looking irritated and slightly embarrassed.

“Oh, okay.” Domino paused. “For prom?”

“Yes, for prom!” El’s voice rose a pitch in exasperation, as though it should have been obvious. Which, well, knowing El, it probably should’ve been. She doesn’t just look at dresses for fun.

“Lemme see.” Domino requested, holding out her hand. El grumpily shoved the phone into her extended hand, before sinking back into her chair with her arms folded across her chest.

Domino scrolled through them all. They were… nice, sure. But they weren’t El. Too short, too fancy, too colourful. They just didn’t suit.

“I don’t want to wear a dress.” El’s voice was hesitant. “I know Yukio is wearing one, but I don’t want to. I don’t like dresses, and they don’t suit me.”

Domino nodded slowly, considering her friend’s words. “Okay. Do you wanna wear a suit?”

El paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then, she slowly shook her head. “No. I don’t want to wear either of them.”

“Okay. That’s fine.” Domino tilted her head. “How about a jumpsuit?”

“A jumpsuit? What’s that?”

“It’s like… a one-piece dress/pantsuit. Like it has paints and everything but it’s one piece.” At El’s unconvinced expression, Domino realised her explanation was terrible and looked up jumpsuit images.

“Here.” She extended the phone back out to her friend, who examined the images sceptically. Then, interest began growing in her gaze as she swiped through more photos.

“I think I’d like a jumpsuit.” She announced, looking satisfied. “I’ll ask my parents for the money.”

Oh yeah, El had actually spoken with her parents again. She, Domino and Domino’s parents had gone over to their house to discuss El and her new living arrangements. Domino’s parents didn’t want to be accused of kidnapping a girl, but they were happy to have El stay with them, like Domino had predicted. El’s parents had agreed to pay for her needs until the end of the school year, because this was her final year of high school, including clothes and paying a small sum to Domino’s parents every week for food, electricity and ‘rent’. (Domino’s parents usually gave El the ‘rent’ money so she could get herself some new clothes and stuff she wanted). After that, however, El was on her own. Well, on her own with Domino.

Abandoning the homework, the two of them went on a load of online shopping, finally settling on a black, form-fitting dress for Domino and a gold and white, vertically striped (to make her look taller) jumpsuit for El. Domino paid for the both of them with her card, and El promised to repay the money as soon as she got it. Domino waved her off. She didn’t really care when she was paid, she trusted El to return her money in due time.

With that done, the girls finally gathered up their resolve and powered through the last of their homework. It was 7:47 by that time, and considering a) neither of them could be bothered to cook and b) it was a Friday, they decided to order in a pizza to share while they watched a movie. It was El’s turn to pick the movie, and she chose some movie called Avengers: Infinity War. Domino had no clue what was happening, but apparently it was important because El sobbed at multiple points throughout the film.

Movies these days are so weird.

-+-

The next week at school, two Big Things happened. 

The first of the Big Things was a new post added to the school’s tumblr. It was another anonymous writer. Some other girl had just come out as bi. Wow. Way to go, El. Setting a trend, huh?

The second Big Thing was an official announcement from the school that no same-sex couples were allowed to attend the dance together as dates. They had to go separately.

This sparked outrage in Domino’s group, and surprisingly, all over the school, too. Peter Q’s group and Tony Stark’s groups were both very outspoken about the issue. Ronan and Juggernaut’s groups, however, were far too pleased with the announcement, and tried to get as many digs as they could at El and Yukio. Subtly, of course, so they couldn’t get in trouble. Things like, ‘Are you going to prom? Who’s gonna be your date?’ and stuff like that. It was infuriating, and when Vanessa and Wade complained to the deputy principal, who had made the official statement, she had just brushed off the issue, saying they were ‘harmless questions’.

Idiots.

And seemingly worst of all, everyone seemed to be expecting El and Yukio to do something about it. The two girls were remaining silent on the issue, even though Yukio was very upset. Vanessa and Piotr were both ranting about the school’s policy on their way to the buses home.

“Is discrimination! Is like saying people of colour not allowed to come!” Piotr exclaimed angrily.

El winced. “Not really.” 

“But it is discriminatory.” Vanessa agreed, ignoring El, looking furious herself. She squeezed Wade’s hand. “We’re not going to prom if you aren’t allowed to.” She added stubbornly, eyes flashing with anger. Wade, for once, said nothing. He was watching El and Yukio, waiting for them to voice their opinions on the matter. Domino knew he’d just support whatever they wanted to do. But Cable, for once, said something.

“Maybe you should try to get people to boycott the prom?” He suggested to El and Yukio. Yukio glanced at her girlfriend nervously. The girl had become more and more agitated as their debates went on.

“Why do we have to do it?” El snapped. “We aren’t going to be at this stupid school in a few months anyway! Besides, the school policy has been around for longer than we have. It’s not going to change because we don’t like it.”

“That’s what people said about hitting kids with canes in school!” Cable protested, looking angry himself.

“Not really, but –“ Domino tried to interject but El cut her off. Domino snapped her mouth shut, rolling her eyes with annoyance. Didn’t anyone listen to her anymore?

“I don’t care! I’m not starting an uprising at school! We’re leaving at the end of the year anyway! They can have their stupid policies; it’s not going to affect us soon!” El burst out, looking heated, but Domino caught a flicker of anxiety in her eyes. She still wasn’t used to everyone knowing she was gay. She had kept it a secret for years, and what, two months after she was outed, they expect her to revolt against the school? Domino could see how it was difficult for her friend. But that didn’t mean they shouldn’t do anything, either.

“But we aren’t the only gay people in school, El.” Yukio broke into Domino’s thoughts more softly than the others. She squeezed her girlfriend’s hand, who looked disgruntled at her lack of support.

“We aren’t the first and we aren’t the last. More people will be affected by this rule than just us, even when we leave. And it’s not fair. Why should we sit quietly? Why can’t we try to make school better for people like us?” Yukio’s voice had become stronger and steadier as she spoke, and she had a glint of defiance in her eyes as she looked challengingly at her girlfriend.

El’s face twisted into an expression Domino couldn’t recognise. “Look at what happened last time I stood up for myself.” She growled, but there was an edge of pain to her voice. Then, El pushed past her girlfriend and stalked home. El didn’t come out of her room (the spare bedroom) for dinner. They didn’t bring up the conversation after that.

One day, however, Gamora and Peter Q stopped Domino and El on their way out of school to ask them what they were going to do about the issue. El, fed up with everyone’s questions, had just shrugged and tried to continue walking, but Gamora had blocked her way.

Looking serious, she stared deep into El’s eyes and asked again “What do we do?”

El raised her eyebrows. “’We’?” 

“Yes, we.” Gamora huffed irritably. “Are we just going to let them walk all over us and treat us like garbage?”

El’s eye twitched. She was becoming angry, Domino could tell. “We? Us?” She repeated. “What do you mean? Are you one of the commenters?”

Gamora tensed slightly. “No.” She exchanged a quick glance with her boyfriend, who was standing awkwardly off to the side. “We know them, though. And they’re not going to do anything without you with them. You’re like, the Mockingjay of the school for them.”

El was becoming increasingly more annoyed and impatient, and curled her lip at Gamora’s statement, before her anger bubbled over. But Domino could sense anxiety beneath her fury. “I didn’t ask to be! No one at this damn school was supposed to find out about me and Yukio! It was supposed to stay a secret! I’m not going to be some LGBT vigilante all of a sudden because I was outed in front of the whole school! It wasn’t supposed to happen!” She snarled out, turning in a circle agitatedly, before trying to push past Gamora again. “Tell them they can sort it out on their own.” She snapped.

Gamora was silent, gazing El’s outraged face impassively, but still blocked the way. Then, she sighed and shook her head slowly, before looking up at the other girl pleadingly. “I know you didn’t ask for it. But a lot of people look up to you.” El stiffened at the statement, but Gamora wasn’t finished, and continued smoothly before El could have another outburst. “They don’t think they’re being treated fairly, but they won’t do anything about it without you or Yukio. Their identities are still a secret, and they’ll remain that way if they think everyone will cast them aside if they do come out. I’m not saying it’s your duty or whatever to help every LGBT person in the school, but they would really appreciate the support of who they see to be their icons at this place. Even if you don’t know them.” She took a step closer to El, her gaze softening. “I’m sorry you were outed. It shouldn’t have happened, I agree. But you can make other people’s lives so much better just by saying you don’t agree with the policy. They need some hope, and to know that it’s okay to stand up for themselves.” She glanced at Peter, stepping back again. “All you need to do is say it isn’t fair. That would be enough.”

El’s eyes were a mixture of emotions. Anger, fear, anxiety…

Pride.

“These people… they look up to me and Yukio?” She repeated hesitantly. Gamora nodded adamantly.

“It’s like I said. You’re their Mockingjay. The one who started it all. You punched Juggernaut. No one has ever dared stand up to him. And you did it because he was homophobic.”

El looked away. “I’m not an idol because I hit Juggernaut...” She scowled bitterly, eyes glazing over. Domino stepped closer to her friend. Her outburst at the bully had cost her her family. “I’m not even an idol because I…” She swallowed thickly. “Because I’m gay. That doesn’t make you an idol any more than punching someone does. I just got mad. I was horrified and I panicked and I hit him not because I was brave or self-righteous. I hit him because… he was shoving my insecurities not only into my face but everyone else’s too. He made me scared.” She shook her head. “I’m not an idol. I’m… I’m a coward.”

Domino was taken aback at her friend’s vulnerable display. Her eyes were glistening slightly and she took a shaky breath to steady herself. Gamora and Peter also seemed surprised, but were not as good at hiding it. Domino gave them a pointed look, and they both carefully hid their expressions before El noticed. But El gave herself a shake and her eyes cleared slightly. She turned her defeated gaze back on Gamora. The other girl was frowning slightly.

“Being scared doesn’t make you a coward. Nor does it make you any less of an idol to the other people. Because they’re scared too. But you acted even though you were scared. Maybe it wasn’t… the most constructive outlet of your fear, but it sent a message. Homophobia isn’t okay. And it won’t be tolerated. Not by you, at least, and that makes you their idol.”

El had straightened slightly while Gamora spoke, and Domino could see that there was a glint of determination in her dark brown eyes now.

“I’ll talk to Yukio.” She said slowly, nodding at Gamora and Peter once before striding past her abruptly. Domino was once again left to scramble after her friend in surprise. Gamora and Peter blinked at each other in surprise. Peter tilted his head at Gamora’s questioning gaze.

“Don’t ask me, ask her.” He shrugged. Taking his advice, Gamora spun around to address El.

“What are you gonna do?” Gamora called after her.

El paused, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes were calm and determined.

“Nothing.”

Gamora deflated slightly, looking disappointed, before El continued.

“We’re just going to go to prom together like a normal couple. If anyone has a problem with that, they should take it up with me. Tell your friends that they’re welcome to come as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this fic is going in... quite a new direction.


	16. Got nothin' in my brain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before prom, comes finals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Shake it Off by Taylor Swift. In a throwback kind of mood.

After El’s declaration of defiance (which Yukio backed wholeheartedly), talk of prom died down considerably, almost to a murmur. But that wasn’t because of El. Only Domino and El’s group and probably Gamora’s group knew about El and Yukio going to prom together. 

It was because it was time for stupid finals, and everyone’s minds were preoccupied with cramming maths equations and chemistry notes, and they didn’t have time for gossip. Well, that applied to everyone except for Juggernaut and Ronan apparently, who spent so much time on the school tumblr posting anti-gay bullshit that Domino wondered if they actually studied at all. Probably not. They were idiots like that.

Domino and El were currently sitting at their dinner table, notes strewn across the table’s surface and taking practice papers. They had reached the end of Dead Week and their tests began the next day. While Domino was slightly nervous about maths, she was fairly confident in the rest of her subjects, and so she wasn’t too stressed. They had been preparing for this for weeks. It was game time.

It was kind of irritating that El did her ‘best thinking’ listening to classical music, but Domino tried to think of it as a distraction she might face in the exam (because maybe an orchestra would be visiting the school the same day?), so she took it as practice for ignoring sounds to focus. Didn’t make it any less annoying, though, and by the end of their practice tests Domino had a headache from blocking out the noise and simultaneously solving equations, and she was ready to launch El’s phone out the window. She actually let out a sigh of relief when El reached over and turned off Mozart or whoever the hell was playing this blasted song.

And now the silence was ringing in her ears.

Groaning, she stood up to fetch some Panadol to kill her headache, before checking the time. They had been up since 6am studying. It was now 8:00ish. Ugh. Over 12 hours studying?? She knew El would probably keep studying, but for now she was wiped out. Time for bed.

Shuffling back into the kitchen, she pulled out the leftover pizza from the previous night and heated it up for the two of them. The true diet of seniors. Domino glanced over at El, who was frowning and marking their maths papers. Uh oh. That was hers. She couldn’t tell from the look on El’s face whether it was good or bad.

The beeping of the microwave distracted her, and she pulled out the now steaming pizza, taking it over to the table and dropping it in front of El. Without looking up, the other girl reached out with her pen and pushed it away, ignoring it.

Domino snorted and pulled two plates out of the cabinet, setting one aside for El and keeping one for herself. Then, she halved the pizza on the plate and put half on El’s plate and half on hers. El still hadn’t even glanced up. Domino nudged her.

“Pizza?” Domino offered, pushing El’s plate closer to her.

“Not hungry.” El grunted in response.

Domino frowned. “You need to eat. We have tests tomorrow.”

“I will eat. Just let me finish marking.”

Domino shrugged and sank back in her chair, taking a bite out of her pizza. A few minutes later, El stretched and straightened up with a sigh. Her eyes lit up when they landed on the pizza, and she quickly handed Domino’s paper back to her before diving for a slice.

Domino nervously flipped over the front page. There, in red ink, was the number 93%.

Domino whooped with delight, making El jump in surprise. At seeing Domino’s ecstatic expression, she relaxed and gave her a weary smile.

“Good job. You finally got polynomials, but you need to be careful to not make silly mistakes in your calculations.” She instructed, before taking another bite out of her pizza.

Domino didn’t tell her she made those silly mistakes because of her stupid music, instead choosing to nod seriously to make El feel better.

The two of them ate in comfortable silence, and when they had finished and El took their plates away to wash up, Domino stretched luxuriously in her chair until she trembled. Today was good. She wasn’t feeling stressed and had just gotten 93% in her practice test. It was time for bed before anything bad could happen to ruin her good mood.

“I’m going to bed.” She announced, and El nodded from where she stood at the sink.

“I’ll probably go to bed soon, too.” She agreed, putting the plates into the dishwasher and drying her hands with a tea towel. “I’ll clean up the table for us.” She added, before coming up to the table and scraping the papers into piles. Too tired to even be bothered arguing, Domino nodded and got out of her seat, wearily trudging to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. 

As she got into bed, she pulled out her phone to check her social medias (a bad habit, she knew, but a habit nonetheless). Two new posts on the school tumblr. One was from Juggernaut: ‘It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve’. Ugh. Irritation flashed through Domino. It’s also Homosapien, not Heterosapien, but that didn’t matter apparently. Well, it isn’t the best argument, so… maybe that’s why.

The second was from an anonymous poster. Another person was coming out as gay.

-+-

Finals went by in a blur. Domino and the gang were feeling very good about their tests, and were planning to celebrate at Cable’s place with drinks and a movie after they’d finished them. 

There wasn’t really much to report over the course of the week, seeing as everyone was up to their eyeballs in past papers, but Domino did look over at Juggernaut during the maths test, and she swore that he was drowning in his own sweat. That made Domino smile. It also earned over 300 likes when an ‘anonymous’ person posted the fact on the school’s tumblr. That person also ended up getting blocked by both Juggernaut and Ronan.

Success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little short and slow, so I'm posting the next chapter tonight. I kinda wrote them at the same time yesterday. It'll be the prom chapter, you guys! Be excited!


	17. Won't stop til we're Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Kill A Mockingjay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from Legend by The Score.

With finals over, all talk turned back to prom, the next thing up on the agenda. And now with 5 gay/bi people in the school, all eyes were on school administrations and staff to see their responses. Principal Xavier was remaining strangely quiet on the issue, but the Vice Principal, Mrs Dust, was very outspoken. All she kept saying was that there were no same-sex couples allowed at the dance, but she would never explain why.

Oh well. It’s probably what you would expect from a woman married to a man named Francis.

El and Yukio were still going to prom though, that was certain. 

It was finally the day of prom, and there was a buzz of anticipation throughout the school. Everyone was eager to see what would become of this year’s prom. People openly stared at Yukio and El as they strode through the school, hand in hand. Yukio’s eyes were shining with excitement. Even though they were just going to prom, there was an air of importance surrounding what they were doing, and Yukio couldn’t be more excited to take part in the fight for equal rights for the LGBT+ community at this school.

Gamora had recently confirmed that there would be one other gay couple coming to prom, and that they should keep an eye out for them. No one knew whether any other LGBT couples would be attending, but there was enough hysteria over one couple, so two would be enough to make a statement, surely.

El and Domino were getting ready for the dance at their place. El had glittery gold-and-white eye shadow and some shiny lip-gloss on, with her now signature mismatched earrings, her stunning jumpsuit and a pair of high heels. She looked… amazing, to put it lightly.

Domino had some blue eye shadow on to match her blue dress, with some dangly earrings and white heels. Her hair wasn’t in its usual afro, courtesy of the hair dresser spending hours trying to tame the frizz, and had it in some pretty, loose curls, which framed her face nicely.

They were going to pick Yukio up on the way there, and El was biting the inside of her cheek in apprehension. Domino gave her an easy smile.

“Relax, you look great. She’ll love you.” She reassured her friend.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about prom itself.” El sat down on the edge of Domino’s bed, brushing her hair out of her face. She had had it cut again, but she hadn’t had it gelled, and it fell lightly to the side of her face. Oh. Right.

Domino shrugged, pushing down her own unease. “It’s fine. What’s the worst that could happen?”

-+-

The trio arrived at the prom a little later than everyone else, because Domino accidentally took a wrong turn on the way to Yukio’s house and had to take a detour, which added 10 minutes to their trip while Domino tried to reorientate herself. All in all, they were only around 30 minutes late, and Piotr and Cable were already waiting outside the school auditorium for the girls to arrive by the time Domino had parked in the school parking lot. 

The trio hurried up to meet their friends, heels clicking against the asphalt. 

“You all look very nice.” Piotr complimented them once they reached them. Cable glanced over them for a moment, nodding his agreement. Nobody noticed his eyes lingering for slightly longer on Domino, before he looked away with a slight darkening of his cheeks.

“Wade and Vanessa are already inside.” He explained, still looking away.

“Shall we go in?” Piotr offered, extending his arm in the direction of the auditorium.

“We shall.” Domino grinned, grabbing Cable’s arm and pulling him excitedly towards the building, eyes shining. Cable grunted in surprise, but didn’t oppose the contact, allowing himself to be dragged towards the double doors leading inside.

Their school had mandatory security, and so two suited men checked any bags the group had on them before they were permitted to enter.

Wade and Vanessa were already dancing together, smiling brightly at each other. Gosh, they were a cute couple too. Wade leaned towards Vanessa and said something funny to her, apparently, because Vanessa threw her head back in a laugh and shoved him away lightly.

Surprisingly, no one paid El and Yukio much mind, as the two scuttled off somewhere (probably to the snacks table, if Domino knew El correctly). Everyone was just laughing and dancing and having fun together, and it seemed like Juggernaut and Ronan weren’t attending like they had promised. Good. Who needed them anyway. 

Domino felt a slight tug on the hand from Cable, and turned to find him watching her expectantly.

“Wanna dance?” He shouted over the music. Domino smiled at him.

“Of course.”

-+-

It almost appeared like there wasn’t going to be any trouble at prom night, like everyone expected. Those who had seen El and Yukio together had either smiled at them or scowled and turned their backs, but no one openly complained.

Domino was having fun watching Wade and Piotr dance goofily together, when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Mrs Dust prowling through the crowd of students, flanked by none other than Juggernaut and Ronan. Domino stopped smiling and craned her neck to see where they were going, not that she had to. Sure enough, they were headed over to the corner, where El and Yukio were swaying lazily to the music together. 

Cable noticed too, and he called out “Guys! Come on. Trouble.” And began slipping after the teacher and bullies. 

“- have been some complaints. I’m going to need to ask you to break it up or you’ll have to leave.” Mrs Dust was just finishing saying by the time Domino and the others reached their friends, who had stopped dancing and broken apart. El’s eyes glittered with annoyance.

“What complaints? From these two?” El demanded, tensing slightly.

“Not just from these two.” Mrs Dust responded. “If you want to keep dancing, you’re going to have to do it somewhere else.”

Domino stepped forwards challengingly. “Why? Can’t he and Ronan leave if they’re so irked by them dancing?” Piotr and Wade nodded their agreement. Mrs Dust whipped around in surprise, obviously unaware that anyone else had been listening.

“They haven’t done anything wrong. I cannot just ask them to leave, it is these two girls who are breaching school rules.” The vice principal replied smoothly, regaining her composure. Juggernaut and Ronan lifted their chins smugly.

“Well, I don’t see how I’ve done anything wrong, so I’m not going anywhere.” El snapped, taking Yukio by the hand and guiding her into the middle of the auditorium, flanked by the rest of her friends, where she threw Juggernaut a heated glare before resuming their dance. Mrs Dust pursed her lips before following them. 

“If you don’t leave voluntarily, I will have to call security.” Mrs Dust threatened once she reached them.

“Go ahead, we’re not going anywhere.” Yukio retorted, pulling El slightly closer to her. Mrs Dust’s threat had drawn the attention of some other students, however, and now people were beginning to form a circle around them to view the confrontation. Domino felt a flash of irritation. If they weren’t going to contribute, they shouldn’t be here. Mrs Dust’s gaze flickered to the students gathering around them, and she looked conflicted for a moment before straightening up and leaving the circle, heading towards the doors.

She returned moments later with one of the security guards in tow. “Last chance, girls. Leave, or you’ll be escorted out and suspended.” She warned, folding her arms.

“For what?!” Someone in the crowd shouted over the music, and the crowd parted to reveal Nebula in a blue dress. “Because they’re dancing?” She stalked forwards to stand beside El, facing Mrs Dust and the security guard. Gamora, Peter and the rest of their friends followed her to to stand behind them. The music suddenly dimmed down, and Domino glanced over to the DJ stand to see Tony Stark standing over the turntables. Then, he jumped down and hurried back through the crowd, pushing past people until he had joined the masses and disappeared. Wow. Smooth.

“If you’re going to escort them out, you’re going to have to escort us out, too.” Gamora’s challenge snapped Domino’s mind back to the matter at hand. Mrs Dust pursed her lips again, anger beginning to glow in her eyes at the blatant disrespect. 

“Fine.” She forced through gritted teeth, whipping around, presumably to get another security guard, before freezing at Gamora’s next statement.

“But first you have to tell us why.”

Mrs Dust slowly turned to face the vexed students, taking a moment to calm her expression before explaining with mock patience “Same-sex couples aren’t allowed at the dance.”

“But we aren’t same-sex couples.” Gamora protested, gesturing to her boyfriend. “Why are you escorting us out?”

“You told me to. You said if they leave, you leave.”

Oh. Yeah.

“Why aren’t same-sex couples allowed at the dance?” Nebula questioned, ignoring her sister’s failure, anger showing in her taut body.

“It’s against the rules.” Mrs Dust responded, beginning to lose some of her composure as fury began taking over her body.

“Why is it against the rules?” Domino countered,

Mrs Dust lost her patience. “Their presence is offending some other students and staff!” She snapped angrily.

“You know what offends me? Their weak minds!” Nebula hissed back. A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd watching. Nebula wasn’t finished. “This is blatant discrimination! Screw your rules! I won’t respect rules that disrespect someone else’s existence!”

There was muttering from the surrounding students, punctuated with a few ‘Yeah!’s.

“How come black people can come to the dance? Wasn’t there some rule against that?” A new voice spoke up. Everyone turned in surprise to see Shuri, an African student, standing defiantly off to one side.

“We do not discriminate against people of different colour.” Mrs Dust struggled to control her voice again. “That rule was removed as times changed and people of colour were more socially accepted. To not allow you to attend the dance would be a crime, because you cannot control who you are in that aspect.”

“And gays and lesbians and other LGBT aren’t ‘socially accepted’? They can’t control it either!” Gamora persisted, leaning forwards.

Mrs Dust’s eyes were cold. “They’re not accepted at this school.” Uh oh. Big mistake. 

Everyone went silent. 

Mrs Dust hurried to cover herself. “Not yet.” But the damage was done. Angry mutters rippled through the crowd of onlookers, and Nebula looked ready to punch somebody.

“Our parents all pay the same fees. We should all be allowed the same privileges.” Shuri argued, coming to stand at Yukio’s other side. Her older brother came to stand beside her, looking defiant. The school’s star basketball player, now standing against their vice principal! This really was getting interesting.

Nobody moved or said anything for a moment. Then, Nebula slowly reached out and took Mantis’ hand. “Does this make you uncomfortable, miss?” She asked, holding the teacher’s gaze steadily. Mrs Dust remained silent.

“How about this?” Another voice spoke up, and everyone turned to see Steve Rogers, Tony Stark’s best friend, holding James Barnes’ hand.

“Or what about me? Do I offend you?” Brunnhilde Valkyrie stepped forwards, holding a girl called Okoye’s hand.

“You have a boyfriend!” Someone called out. Brunnhilde raised her eyebrows.

“Really? Who?”

“Thor!”

She and Thor simultaneously burst out laughing. “We aren’t dating!” She exclaimed. “Besides, even if I did have a boyfriend, it doesn’t mean I’m straight. Ever heard the term ‘bisexual’?”

“Guys, careful.” Wade warned. When everyone turned to stare at him, he pointed at Juggernaut dramatically and smirked. “Juggernaut looks like he’s about to explode.”

Juggernaut was breathing heavily through his nose, red-faced and looking furious. He opened his mouth (presumably to say something rude) but Steve cut him off.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind too much. It’s not like he’s homophobic or anything.” He drawled sarcastically. “Just like how he won’t mind this.” Without warning, he turned to James and planted a firm kiss on his mouth. Everyone gasped, and a few people cheered, including Tony, who had shouldered his way to the front to stand by his friends, Peter Parker standing beside him.

“Fags!” Juggernaut snarled and stormed off, Ronan scurrying after him like a dog. There was now shouting, insults being thrown after the retreating boys, and Mrs Dust spun around trying to calm the outraged students.

“Let’s go.” El’s soft voice interrupted the calamity. Everyone went silent and stared at her in shock. Nebula spun to face her with a betrayed look on her face, but El continued slowly before anyone could speak.

“It’s obvious no one wants us here, right? So let’s just go. Everyone who wants to come with us, can come. Everyone else can stay here and do whatever they want. I, for one, am starving, and the food here is terrible. So I’m going to have dinner.” She let a glare sweep over the assembled students. “Screw this place. I’m going somewhere I won’t be judged for being me. It’s not like I’ll have any fun here anyway, and frankly, it’s not worth my effort.” With that, she spun on her heel and began slipping through the crowd of people, followed close behind by Yukio, who was wearing a small smile on her face. 

Domino hurried to follow her friend, flanked by the rest of their group. At first, no one else moved. Then, Nebula pushed her way through, trotting to catch up with El, still holding Mantis’ hand. Gamora and the rest of their group followed. Then Brunnhilde caught up. And Steve and James. And their respective groups. Soon, almost a third of the auditorium had been cleared out. The best third.

“Why are we leaving? That’s letting them win!” Nebula hissed at El, glancing around. 

“No it’s not. We’re leaving on our own terms. That’s better than being escorted out by security.” Then, she turned and gestured to the mass of students who had followed them out of the auditorium. “Besides, look at how many people are coming with us. This is a win in my mind.”

The fire began to fade from Nebula’s eyes, and her shoulders loosened slightly. Mantis squeezed her hand, and Nebula blinked at the other girl, a small smile forming on her face. Domino was determined to make this night better than prom.

“So, where are we gonna eat?” Domino asked, clapping her hands and smiling brightly. A few people around her laughed. What? Were they not planning on eating?

After some speculation, Tony offered to order pizza to his place for everyone, and soon, they were all piling into his mansion, laughing and listening to music from a small speaker someone had brought along.

Smiling around at all of the people around her, Domino’s eyes rested on El and Yukio, sitting on one of Tony’s couches. Yukio had linked their arms and was leaning on El’s shoulder. Peter Q sat across from them, gesticulating wildly as he told some crazy story, Gamora sitting on his knee. Nebula and Mantis were sitting together in a similar fashion to El and Yukio, Mantis leaning on Nebula’s shoulder, and even Nebula was smiling slightly at Peter’s dramatic display. Everyone else was dancing to the music, and Domino caught a glimpse of Steve and James dancing goofily together while Tony and Peter P argued over what pizzas to order. The sound of laughter and chatter filled the room.

Oh yeah. This was better than prom any day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I included some other characters I thought you might like. Hope it wasn't too much, tell me what you think! Okay, the story is really drawing to a close now. Maybe.


	18. The time has come, let us be brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new and improved prom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from The Weight Of Us by Sanders Bohlke.

Tony’s place was certainly way more fun than school. Some people were laughing and dancing together, heels off, while others were drinking and eating pizza, while others still were playing games or swimming in Tony’s pool. They had all pushed the chairs and tables and such aside in most of the rooms to make a considerably large dance floor, but Domino had chosen to sit on one of the couches they’d pushed aside and was watching the happenings of their new and improved prom night.

Domino was sipping on some cheap beer, gazing El and Yukio dance together from where she relaxed on the sofa. Yukio was a surprisingly good dancer, and El, unsurprisingly, was not. Needless to say, it was quite entertaining watching Yukio try to teach her girlfriend how to dance. 

Wade and Vanessa were also dancing, spinning around together madly, laughing loudly. Cable and Piotr had, apparently, gone to play pool with Tony and some of his friends. And so Domino was once again left to third wheel, drinking beer and wishing she had a boyfriend. 

The other couples seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Steve and Bucky were laughing and talking at the kitchen counter, getting drinks, presumably taking a break from their game with Tony. Brunnhilde was absolutely smashed from the alcohol, swaying clumsily with Okoye, who Domino could see blushing even from this distance. All of the other kids from the dance that had followed them out were dancing and drinking too, paying no mind to the same-sex couples in the room, unless they were hanging out together. As it should be.

The cushions of the sofa shifted beneath Domino as someone sat down beside her.

“Why don’t you have a date?” It was Nebula, staring at her with a curious expression, probably softened by the alcohol. She had taken of her heels, too, and had two drinks in her hands, one for her and one presumably for her girlfriend. “Are you gay, too?”

Domino snorted, surprise and amusement flashing through her. “You wish.” She gazed at Yukio and El, who had given up trying to dance skilfully and were now swaying together, contentment showing in their relaxed faces. “Nah, I’m not, I just… haven’t gotten around to looking for a boyfriend yet, I guess.”

Nebula tilted her head. “Oh. Okay.”

“Where’s Mantis?”

“She just went to the bathroom.”

Domino shifted and turned around to face the other girl. “So how long have you and Mantis been a thing? If you don’t mind my asking, I mean.” 

Nebula blushed and looked away. “I don’t mind. And not long. Mantis came out on their kissing video.” She explained, nodding at El and Yukio. “She told me about it and then… well I guess one thing just led to another and now… we’re here?”

Domino nodded, taking another sip of beer. “Cool.”

A comfortable silence settled over the pair as they sipped their drinks on the sofa together. Then, Nebula broke the silence with surprising softness. (Alcohol really does a number on some people, huh?)

“Thank you.”

Domino’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “For what?”

Nebula looked disgruntled, shifting in her seat. She didn’t have a reputation for thanking people. “I meant it as a collective thing. You AND El AND Yukio and Wade and Piotr and Vanessa and Cable.” When Domino still looked confused, she continued hurriedly. “You helped us… be brave, I guess. We’d all still probably be in the closet if not for you and your friends. Seeing them –“ She nodded at Yukio and El “- being themselves. And you supporting them. It showed us that we weren’t… alone. Not just that there were more gays like us, but that there were people who would support us. All we’d been exposed to before that was the straights laughing at Juggernauts homophobic jokes and ‘fags’ being used as an extremely offensive slur.” She looked away self-consciously. “I just wanted to say thanks.”

Domino smiled at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I could say the same to you. Without you guys, this –“ She gestured around the room “- wouldn’t have been possible.”

Nebula ducked her head, embarrassed. Then, she gazed about the room, a small smile playing about her lips. A shadowed look suddenly crossed her face.

“My dad will kill me if he finds out.” She murmured darkly.

Domino blinked, waiting for the other girl to continue, but she never did. Not wanting to pry, she let the comment slide. Nebula turned to gaze at her curiously, the dark look disappearing from her face. 

“El lives with you, doesn’t she?” Nebula questioned, tilting her head. Domino nodded, taking a sip from her beer before Nebula asked “Why?”

Domino shifted in her seat. “El’s parents weren’t that happy about her coming out either.” She replied slowly. “She had to leave. So now she lives with me.”

“Oh.”

Silence.

Domino watched the other girl shift nervously, looking agitated. Domino held out her hand. “Phone?” 

Looking surprised and curious, Nebula pulled out her mobile and placed it in Domino’s open palm. Domino quickly airdropped her contact information into Nebula’s phone before handing it back.

“For if you need anything.” Domino clarified, sinking back into the sofa and taking another sip from her drink, gazing about the party again. El and Yukio were kissing. Domino quickly averted her gaze. Get a room you two, yeesh.

“Thanks.” Nebula’s surprised yet grateful voice broke into her thoughts. “Anyway, Mantis is coming back now, I’m gonna go.” Domino waved goodbye as Nebula stood and sauntered back to her girlfriend’s side.

“What happened to YOU??” Someone suddenly yelled, and all eyes turned to the front door, where Thor’s brother, Loki, was striding into the room sporting a black eye. He snorted. 

“Ronan’s got worse. You should’ve heard them both! They were spouting the most homophobic, disgusting bullcrap I’ve ever heard! And Mrs Dust did nothing to stop them! So, well, I did. The look on Ronan’s face when I punched him in the stomach was hilarious. And better yet, you couldn’t see it, from the way I did it. Most of the teachers think THEY punched first! They were escorted out and well, by then I’d had my fun so I took my leave too.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped. Then, Thor let out a roar of laughter and approached Loki with an ice pack before slapping him on the back roughly. Laughter broke out all around the room, and a few people came up to Loki to congratulate him cheerily.

Then, someone obscured Domino’s view and she snapped her gaze up to see Cable, holding his hand out and looking nervous, and in turn embarrassed about being nervous.

“Wanna finish that dance?” He asked, blushing. A flash of surprise went through Domino for a moment, before she grinned and jumped up, taking his hand, setting her empty cup on the floor. He guided her out into the dance floor, and they began dancing together. Domino glanced over at El to find the other girl staring back at her with a meaningful look, before smirking and pulling Yukio towards the kitchen.

Domino snapped her gaze back to Cable’s face, and felt a tingle of warmth run through her body as she looked into his soft eyes. Cable looked away for a moment nervously, before taking a deep breath and looking back at her, a small smile on his face, which Domino returned.

They stayed together the rest of the night, and Domino tried her best to ignore El, who was making kissy faces and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively in their direction until Yukio dragged her away.

Thanks Yukio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's kinda short, but I had quite a bit of fun writing it... Im wondering what Im going to do for our favourite people before graduation day? How will other people react? Tell me what you think and anything you might like to see before I finish up this story, and I might just add it in!


	19. I was gone but not my love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Youth by Glass Animals

The trip back to Domino’s house was punctuated by numerous singings of ‘Domino and Cable, sitting in a tree’, courtesy of El. They had had to walk home, seeing as they had all been drinking AND had left their vehicles in the school parking lot. The streets were empty, illuminated by the white glow of streetlights, and silent except for El's singing and the laughter from Yukio that went along with it. Domino was half-regretting leaving her car at school, partly because she was tired and partly because she knew that driving would mean less singing from El. Oh well. Domino would just take a detour to the school on her morning run on Sunday to pick it up. 

El was leaning heavily on Yukio as they walked, swaggering through the streets and singing that stupid song for probably the 18th time, her voice slurred. She looked like she’d had a good time at Tony’s, though. That was good. She deserved that much, after all the crap they'd gone through earlier that night. Yukio would be staying the night at Domino’s, so she would be the one to deal with El’s drunkenness, which Domino was relieved at. Yukio didn’t appear to mind though, her eyes shining as she gazed at her girlfriend affectionately.

It was good to see her friends happy after all of their misgivings about the prom. Sure, they'd caused a rebellion and fought against the faculty of the school, but it had been in the name of JUSTICE! It would be interesting to see what happened at school the following week, though.

Oh well. They’d cross that bridge when they got there.

-+-

It was a quiet, lazy weekend; Vanessa and the boys came over to hang out with them on Saturday, and Yukio stayed another night before returning home on Sunday. Domino had totally forgotten about her car until Sunday night, but had decided to leave it and pick it up after school tomorrow, much to El’s dismay.

“But I don’t wanna WALK to school!” She had complained.

“You did that every day for like, 5 years!”

“EXACTLY!!”

What a loser. In the most affectionate term, of course.

Domino had also been texting Nebula quite a bit. It had been just to check in on her at first, but had progressed to having long conversations late into the night. The girl was much more talkative over text. It was nice, though, to talk to her more casually. Domino had even been added to a group chat with some of the other people who had gone to prom, and was enjoying all the gay memes they posted to the chat. She found El, Peter Parker and Shuri had the best ones.

Needless to say, no one was keen on the weekend, well, ending. Well, Domino supposed that unless they had some time-bending device handed to them from some psycho with a metal arm from the future, they’d have to deal with it. (Why the metal arm? Well, isn’t it like, a rule that if you have a metal arm, you’re basically a murderer/psycho?)-+-

Returning to school on Monday garnered Domino and her group quite a bit of attention. Everyone stared at them, with either approval or disgust in their eyes. There was literally no in-between. Surprisingly though, Domino saw that most people were approving rather than disapproving. That was good, right?

“Hey! Domino!” 

Domino turned to see Gamora beckoning her over to her and her group, eyes shining. Flashing her a grin, Domino turned her stride in their direction, her friends following close behind.

“What’s up?” Domino greeted once they arrived. At that point, she suddenly noticed how close their groups were becoming. El and Yukio approached Mantis and Nebula, and the four girls greeted each other happily, Mantis and Yukio even sharing a quick hug. The boys instantly came up to Peter, Drax, Groot and Rocket to greet them, Wade slapping Peter on the back and saying something apparently funny, because Peter laughed and Vanessa rolled her eyes, following El and Yukio instead of her boyfriend.

Cable and Rocket shared a ‘bro-shake’ (you know the one, all the guys do it by like, grabbing their hand and slapping them on the back? That one.). Drax and Groot did the same with Piotr. Groot actually had something called ‘selective mutism’, which meant he wouldn’t speak most of the time. It usually happened in small children, but Groot didn’t exactly have a happy childhood before he and Rocket were adopted into Quill’s family, and Domino supposed it just stuck with him. Still, he seemed pretty happy and relaxed, and waved in Domino’s direction with a bright smile, brown eyes shining. Domino returned the wave cheerily.

“’What’s up’ is that we’re the talk of the school!” Gamora’s excited voice interrupted her thoughts. “One of the teachers even came up to us just a few seconds ago to congratulate us on our standing up!”

Domino felt surprise flash through her. “Really?” Her face split into a wide grin. “That’s awesome! We have some faculty support! Which teacher was it?”

“Mr Dey.”

“He’s the best, I knew he’d support us,” Peter cut in.

"Any other news?" Domino asked. "Not really." Gamora shrugged, glancing at her friends, who also shrugged. The bell ringing for first period cut their conversation short. Because Domino and El had walked to school, they hadn't had much time to chat, really, and Domino and El waved at the others before parting ways with them to go to their first class of the day. 

They were stopped at the door by Mrs Dust. Her face remained carefully blank as she pulled them aside. “You need to come with me,” she stated smoothly. 

“Is there an explanation as to why, Miss?” While the question itself wasn’t rude, there was an edge to El’s voice which made Mrs Dust’s eyes narrow.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Wait here for me to come back.” She instructed stiffly.

El and Domino exchanged a startled glance before agreeing. Mrs Dust turned and started off in another direction, students parting around her like water flowing around a rock.

“What does she want with us now?” El asked, but there was no worry in her voice. She just sounded irritated. Domino shrugged.

“No idea. But apparently ‘we’ll find out soon enough’.” She mimicked Mrs Dust’s low voice with a very serious expression accompanying it. El laughed.

Mrs Dust returned soon after followed by numerous other students, and Domino instantly knew what was going on. Behind her was Brunnhilde, Okoye, Steve, James, Gamora and her group, Tony and his group and Yukio and her group, followed by Shuri and her brother. Behind them were Juggernaut and Ronan, walking with their chins held high smugly. Domino fought the urge to curl her lip in disgust at the sight of them.

“Follow me.” Mrs Dust ordered crisply, walking in the direction of the auditorium. El and Domino exchanged another glance before tagging on alongside Nebula and Yukio. 

“This isn’t good.” Nebula muttered to Domino, eyes dark. 

“It’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?” Domino reassured her, pushing down her own misgivings.

As it turns out, the universe loved proving Domino wrong. Entering the auditorium, Domino felt her heart drop into her feet when she saw Principal Xavier… sitting surrounded by everyone’s parents. Nebula sucked in a sharp breath beside her, and when Domino glanced at her, she saw fear shining in the girl's eyes for the first time. Across from the principal were rows and rows of empty chairs.

“Take a seat, please.” Principal Xavier gestured to the rows of seats before him. Domino spotted El’s parents in the crowd behind the principal, and fought the urge to vomit. Beside them were Domino's parents, and Domino felt a wave of surprise. Why were they here, too?? Weren't they on another business trip? They weren't due to come home until the weekend! Her mother caught sight of her, and nudged her husband before waving at her. Domino waved back, surprise still tingling through her. El's parents had an unreadable expression on their faces as they gazed coolly at their daughter, who had stiffened beside Domino. Domino discreetly reached out to touch El’s hand, trying to soothe her. Once everyone was seated, Principal Xavier straightened in his seat and cleared his throat.

“We are gathered here today to discuss the events that occurred on prom night, and some complaints filed by parents and students.” He began, his eyes travelling slowly over the crowd of students. “As you all know; our school has a strict policy against same-sex couples being allowed to attend the dance.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Yet there seemed to be a little bit of a… a protest movement that disrupted the night, with several of such couples attending and speaking out at the dance.” He turned to address the parents gathered around him.

“There was a skirmish, too, between Loki, Cain and Ronan. It is still unclear who struck first –” There was an angry “He did!” from Ronan, but Principal Xavier cut him off “-but it is unacceptable to hit other students, and they have ALL been dealt with appropriately, no matter who hit first.”

There was a grumble of dissent from some of the parents, and Principal Xavier turned around to address it. “Is there a problem, Mrs Kree?” He inquired.

The woman, Ronan’s mother, who had sleek black hair and blue eyes, had her gaze trained coldly on Loki. “If my son says he hit first, I stand by him. He did nothing wrong in defending himself, so why should he be punished?”

“Well if MY son said that YOUR son hit first, then I stand by my son too!” A man snapped back, Thor and Loki’s father, apparently. Loki ducked his head to hide a smug grin.

Principal Xavier held up his hand to stop the argument before it could spiral. “That issue has been dealt with. Our main focus now is on the cause of the prom’s disruption.” Turning to Mrs Dust he continued “Mrs Dust, could you please explain what happened on the night?”

Mrs Dust dipped her head. “Gladly.” Lifting her chin, she began her explanation. “It was brought to my attention that there was a same-sex couple attending against the rules due to numerous complaints from other students, who felt uncomfortable with their presence. I went to investigate, and found Miss Phimister and Miss Kutsuna dancing together. When I asked them to break it up or else leave the prom, they rudely refused and went to the centre of the room, which I believe was to cause a scene. 

“I approached them again and said I would have security remove them if they continued to break the rules, and they again refused to stop. This garnered the attention of several other students, including Miss Titan and Miss Udonta, AND Miss Valkyrie and Miss Dora AND Mr Rogers and Mr Barnes, three same-sex couples who also attended against the rules. They refused to be escorted out, and several other students here furthered the conflict and caused a rebellion, resulting in the detriment of the night, ruining it for many students. If not for Miss Phimister and Miss Kutsuna’s rebellion in the first place, I believe this would not have happened. Miss Phimister especially continues to show herself to be a destructive force to the harmony of this school, and as such I recommend her permanent suspension.”

There was an uproar of protest from the students after Mrs Dust finished speaking. All except for Ronan and Juggernaut, of course. And, most surprisingly of all, Nebula remained silent and seated, and when Domino glanced at her, she saw her gazing at the floor blankly, looking pale. Principal Xavier sat back and watched the students thoughtfully, not intervening.

“If she goes, I go!” Domino shouted, leaping to her feet, anger flashing through her. There was a chorus of ‘Yeah!’s at her exclamation. El tugged her hand and Domino glanced down at her friend. Her eyes were wide and troubled, but she shook her head.

“Don’t do that for me. You’ve almost graduated!”

Domino glared at her. “I’m not graduating without you.”

Principal Xavier sat up again, eyes sharp, and the students fell silent again. He turned to El’s parents. “What are your thoughts on the matter? She is your responsibility as your daughter, after all.” 

El’s parents remained silent for a moment, staring at El, who shrank away from their gazes. Then, El’s mum stood up slowly and began to speak. 

“I wanted to send her to conversion therapy. But she didn’t want that, and left home.” Several dubious murmurs rippled through the crowd before she continued “I could’ve stopped her, but I didn’t. She’s almost old enough to be a woman. She can do what she wants, whether I think she’s making a mistake or not. I’ll just hurt her if I try to stop her doing what she wants.” El’s mother’s face suddenly relaxed, and her shoulders slumped slightly. “I think I made a… I made a mistake too. I shouldn’t have been so quick to hatred. I wasn’t raised to hate people, and I didn’t raise my daughter to hate people either.” El listened, stiff with shock. She locked eyes with her mother, and the older woman stared steadily back at her.

“So I won’t condemn her for loving someone.” El's eyes widened. Was her mother finally accepting her?? But El's mother suddenly turned to Domino’s parents, who were watching the interaction intently. “I can’t condemn her, but… she isn’t the daughter I raised either. I didn’t raise her to be a dyke, but she can’t help it I suppose.” El flinched at the word ‘dyke’, shrinking back down. “She deserves a better family. I can’t live with her, knowing I’ve failed as a parent, and I doubt she wants to live with me, because I would still send her off to that camp because it is what I believe is best for her. Look at what happens when she’s… like this.” Everyone watched, wide-eyed as El’s mother grabbed her husband’s hand and glanced once more over at her daughter. “I’m sorry, but… I am not going to be responsible for her. She is legally her own person in a few weeks. She can do what she wants.” 

There was silence as El’s parents left the auditorium, the doors swinging shut loudly behind them. Domino turned her gaze back on El, shell-shocked. El had covered her eyes and her shoulders shook in silent sobs. Domino wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. El leaned heavily against her, and Domino slowly stroked her hair to soothe her. Her parents had just publicly abandoned her. Domino never thought they would stoop that low. They could have at least waited until it was just them and the principal in the room to leave. 

Domino heard Juggernaut sniggering in the back row, and Domino glanced over at him to see his phone pointed at El and Domino. Had he been recording the whole thing? With a flash of rage, Domino almost leaped up to go and punch him, but stopped herself when she heard Principal Xavier’s voice. 

“Cain!” He barked sharply, and Juggernaut stopped laughing. “Phone. Here. Now.”

Juggernaut slowly slid out of his seat and approached the principal, before grudgingly handing him his phone and stalking back to his chair. Domino glared daggers at him the whole way.

“I’m sorry, Mr Xavier, could we get back to the matter at hand?” Mrs Dust’s voice cut into Domino’s angry thoughts, and she snapped her gaze back to the vice principal, who was standing off to the side and looking increasingly more impatient. Principal Xavier looked surprised for a moment, raising his eyebrows in disbelief at her insensitivity. 

“Yes, of course.” He fell silent, turning his gaze back onto El thoughtfully, who had stopped crying and was now looking straight forwards blankly. After a few more moments of silence, Mrs Dust coughed quietly, and everyone glanced back up at her again.

“Your verdict on the permanent suspension of Miss Phimister? Her parents have clearly shown they have no say in the matter, so it’s up to you. I believe –“

“- Will you please shut up?!” Snapped Domino’s father, who was glaring at the vice principal with a heated gaze. Domino felt pride flash through her momentarily, and a few students giggled around her.

Principal Xavier narrowed his eyes at El, before sitting back and clasping his hands together with a sense of finality. “I won’t be suspending Miss Phimister. She is free to continue her schooling until the end of the school year, when she will graduate.” Mrs Dust’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“But sir, they broke the rules. That at least warrants 2-day suspension for all of them.” She gestured at the crowd of students before her for emphasis.

“Ah, yes.” Principal Xavier tilted his head, but said nothing further, looking thoughtful again.

“And what will you do to prevent more events like this arising in the future?” Ronan’s mother cut in. “A 2-day suspension won’t stop them from causing another rebellion like this again. How about tightening the rules?” Mrs Dust nodded approvingly.

“I agree with that.”

Principal Xavier rubbed his hands together, eyes brightening. “Or.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at Mrs Dust, who leaned back in surprise. “We could remove those rules. That would mean that students would not feel as though they are being oppressed, and no future rebellions would occur.” He leaned forwards. “That would eliminate two problems at once. Maybe even more. It could also lend strength to anti-bullying rules, by making it known that homophobia is intolerable as well.” Mrs Dust’s jaw dropped. El had perked up considerably, and was leaning forwards in her chair. Excitement tingled through Domino. Yes yes YES!!

“But-but sir! That is removing a decades old rule, just because a few students are upset?!” Mrs Dust looked aghast, her gaze flicking between the principal and the students.

“I’m removing a decades old rule that is well overdue for removal.” Principal Xavier replied, an edge to his voice. “I will not tolerate students feeling as though they are not welcome at my school. Times are changing. We must not be left behind.” Turning to the students, he added “You’re free to go back to class. I’ll deal with this. If Cain, Ronan or any parents have any inquiries, they can stay here with me and I will be happy to explain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh finally! I had quite a bit of trouble writing this chapter, but I hope it didn't turn out too bad.
> 
> Tell me what you think!


	20. From the ground up, we will rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Domino's Home for 'They Deserve Better' Children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title is from High by Young Rising Sons

El, Domino and Nebula walked side by side out of the auditorium in silence. Domino herself was beaming with pride and excitement, and as soon as they slipped through the doors, she let out a whoop of happiness. El and Nebula both turned to give her startled looks, and she ducked her head sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed by her own outburst.

“Sorry.” She apologised, blushing. “It’s just… wow! They got rid of the rule! We did it!”

“Yeah, but in doing so, Mr Xavier just exposed a bunch of students to their parents.” Nebula snapped back, and Domino recoiled, feeling her heart stop momentarily. The other girl’s eyes were sharp with anger and fear, but Domino knew it wasn’t directed at her. With a pang, Domino remembered how Nebula had told her that her father would kill her if he found out her secret. Looking at her friend’s fearful face, she suddenly wondered how much of that statement was true.

Domino was distracted when Yukio approached El’s other side and slipped her hand into her girlfriend’s, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. El’s eyes had returned to being hollow, and she closed them when Yukio kissed them, letting out a shuddering breath. Her mother and father had publicly abandoned her. Suddenly, El’s face contorted in pain and anger, and she shook her head fervently as if trying to dislodge something from her brain, black lips pulled into a tight frown.

She stopped walking, and Domino, Yukio and even Nebula followed suit, and Domino examined her friend’s face in concern. It was so unfair for El, for all of this shit to happen to her. 

“Are you okay?” Yukio murmured the question, squeezing El’s hand. El took a deep breath and straightened up, before immediately slouching back down and hunching her shoulders again, shaking her head miserably.

“No.”

Domino frowned and tilted her head to one side in contemplation for a moment, before grabbing her friend’s hand and beginning to pull her away to the bathrooms. “Come on,” she murmured. “We don’t have to go back to class yet.” At least at the bathrooms she would have some privacy if she broke down, and she could wash her face afterwards. Yukio and again, Nebula followed behind.

Domino glanced back at Nebula momentarily and winced. Her other friend’s face was blank with what Domino assumed to be shock, dark brown eyes glazed over as she shuffled after them down the hall.

“Nebula! Wait!” Gamora pushed through the small crowd of students to reach her sister’s side, but didn’t touch her. Nebula ignored her, gaze fixed on the floor in front of her

Domino quickened her pace, half guiding, half dragging El into the nearest bathrooms and closing the door carefully behind her after everyone was inside. El sat herself down on one of the benches (why the toilets needed benches Domino was not sure, but they did) and took a deep steadying breath. She bit her lip and closed her eyes before rubbing them harshly, almost angrily.

“Gentle.” Yukio chided softly, laying a hand on El’s arm. El stopped rubbing her eyes and dropped her hands into her lap, grunting in response. Her eyes were unfocused as they stared straight ahead, eyebrows knitted together in thought.

“I’m fine,” she murmured eventually, lowering her gaze. Domino could tell she was definitely not fine, but knew that she shouldn’t push her friend. They would talk about it later if El wanted to.

Nebula, meanwhile, was pacing the tiled floor of the bathroom, looking agitated. Gamora stood off to once side, an anxious frown on her face, but not intervening. Suddenly, Nebula turned and delivered a sharp kick to the metal frame of one of the toilet stalls, making it shake.

“He’s going to kill me.” She rasped, eyes wide and glazed.

“No he’s not.” Gamora stated firmly, sliding closer to her sister, hands out to touch her shoulder gently. “I’m not letting him lay a hand on you.”

Nebula turned on her with a snarl. “Not anymore, you mean?” She spat, eyes flashing.

Gamora fell silent, letting her hands drop to her sides. Nebula glared at her for a few more moments before letting out an angry huff and beginning to pace again. Domino blinked at the interaction. What did Nebula mean, ‘not anymore’? Domino felt a shiver run through her body.

“If you need, you can stay at my place for a bit.” Domino offered hesitantly, not wanting Nebula to lash out at her.

Nebula whipped around to stare at her, eyes wide. Had she forgotten the rest of them were here? El and Yukio exchanged a quick glance before slowly standing up.

“If you need any help, we’ll be here.” Yukio added softly, and El nodded in agreement. “We have to go back to class now, but we can talk at recess?” Nebula didn’t reply. El turned to give Domino a questioning look as if to ask ‘coming with?’. Domino shook her head quickly, waving them away with her hand. The two girls left then, trying to give the other girls some more privacy.

Nebula watched them leave, eyes dark.

“If you want me to leave too, just say the word and I will.” Domino offered, slowly straightening up and preparing for Nebula’s probable dismissal. However, when Nebula turned her dark gaze onto Domino, it softened slightly and she shook her head.

“No. You can stay. Unless you want to go.”

Domino blinked, sitting back down. “I’ll stay.”

“Okay.”

Gamora glanced in between them, looking conflicted for a moment, before addressing her sister quietly.

“Do you want to stay with Domino?” She asked softly.

Nebula hesitated, looking uneasy. “Would your parents be okay with it?” She shifted slightly on the spot in discomfort.

“Yeah, probably. They were actually… supposed to be on a business trip and not due back until the weekend. I'm not sure what they're actually doing here, but I can ask for you?” Domino tilted her head questioningly.

Nebula still looked slightly anxious. “Are you sure?”

“Definitely.” Domino paused, thoughts racing through her head for what would be the reason for Nebula’s reluctance to go home after this recent confrontation. None of the thoughts were good. Her first guess was that her father was like El’s parents; a homophobic and nasty person. But seeing the distressed state her friend was in, she began to assume that the relationship between her and her father was a lot worse than that. Abusive, even. “Can I ask… why?” Domino ventured, feeling slightly apprehensive at the thought that her suspicions may be confirmed. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Nebula tensed for a moment, eyes flashing in suspicion and anger. Then, her shoulders slumped and her gaze gained a sudden tiredness, making her look a lot older than she really was. She looked exhausted. Domino resisted the urge to give the other girl a hug, knowing that since they didn’t know each other THAT well, and knowing what she did about the girl, affection would probably just get herself a punch from her.

“I think you can guess why.” Nebula answered wryly, coming to take a seat beside Domino. “My father isn’t a good man. He… he’s abusive.” Her face twisted suddenly, and Domino wondered if it was the first time Nebula had actually said those words out loud to anyone.

Gamora hesitated for a moment before coming to sit at Domino’s other side. Nebula glared at her sister as she passed. Dismay crept up Domino’s spine.

“Does he… hurt…?” Domino trailed off uncertainly, feeling increasingly more upset and angered by her friend’s revelation.

“Me?” Nebula finished, in a much quieter and softer voice than Domino would have actually thought possible for the usually brusque and aggressive girl. She hesitated, opening her mouth and closing it again a few times, as if unable to say the words aloud.

“Yes.” Nebula’s voice sounded slightly strangled, as if the word was torn from her throat forcefully. Panic lit up suddenly in her dark brown gaze, and she swiftly stood up and stepped away from Domino, retreating away from her and her sister with her arms wrapped around herself protectively.

“It’s my fault, though. I displease him.” Nebula rasped, eyes beginning to glisten slightly. Her words were accompanied by a groan and a sharp twist to her features, making her look slightly deranged, or like she was in pain. 

“It’s not your fault, Nebula.” Domino told her firmly, standing up and holding her hands out placatingly, but not stepping closer to her. The other girl's breathing was beginning to become more erratic. Domino could tell the girl was beginning to panic; her face pale, eyes wide and breath quickening. Domino felt bitterness and worry creep up her throat like bile. What was with these parents and making their children feel like garbage to them? “He might say it is or you may feel it is but it’s not. Come on, breathe with me. In… and out… calmly.” Nebula stared at her, eyes blank, breaths coming short and fast. Her eyes darted around the small space, and she was beginning to resemble a cornered animal. Domino wasn’t sure that she could even hear what she was saying, but she tried anyway. “He’s not here. He can’t reach you. Breathe with me now… In… out… in…” 

Tears sparkled in Nebula’s eyes as she took deep, shuddering breaths, trying to mimic Domino’s pace. Domino slowly stepped forwards. Nebula stepped back. Domino chewed the inside of her cheek worriedly. She wanted to get close enough to her to hold her, calm her down more. But it seemed like the girl was afraid of her coming near her. Domino wasn't sure she had ever been in a situation like this before. Would touching Nebula now be a bad idea? 

Uncertainly, Domino took another step towards her friend, and this time, Nebula didn’t step back, but didn’t look any more trustful, either.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Domino murmured. Nebula’s eyes flickered behind Domino to her sister, who was peering back at her with a pained expression. “She won’t either, Nebula.” Domino reassured her, holding out her hand. Nebula’s gaze returned back to Domino’s face, before flicking down to her hand and back up to her face again. She looked like she was considering something, her thoughts flitting like butterflies in her eyes.

Suddenly, she darted forwards, pushing Domino’s hand out of the way and instead wrapping her arms around Domino’s torso in a tight, forceful hug. Domino felt surprise flash through her, but returned the hug, slowly bringing them around Nebula in a much less tight embrace, not wanting to frighten her in any way. Nebula buried her face into Domino’s shoulder, taking another deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Nebula.” Gamora whispered from behind Domino, and Nebula stiffened in her arms. 

“I shouldn’t have let him hurt you.” Gamora continued. “I was afraid of what would happen to me if I stepped in, and I was a horrible sister, I know. I’m trying to make it right. Please, trust me? I won’t let anything happen to you anymore.”

Nebula broke the hug, stepping away from Domino and observing her sister with a sharp gaze. Her cheeks were red and tear-stained, but the panic was leaving her eyes. Then, she took another deep breath and gave Gamora a curt nod, and the other girl visibly sagged with relief.

“Can I still stay with you for now, Domino?” Nebula asked turning her head to address her.

“Yes, of course.” Domino nodded vigorously.

“Thanks.”

The three girls stood in awkward silence for a few more moments, as Nebula walked over to the sink and quickly began washing her face, removing the last traces of her panic attack. When she was finished, she broke the silence again, her voice much clearer and stronger. She didn’t acknowledge her sister’s presence, instead turning to speak to Domino.

“I’m going back to class.” She announced.

Domino blinked in surprise. “Are you sure? We can just… stay here and talk more for a bit, if you want…”

Nebula shook her head, eyes flashing with something Domino couldn’t recognise. “No. We can talk later.” Her voice was hard and unyielding, not allowing for any argument. She softened her tone for her next words, however. “See you later, Domino. At lunch, maybe?” Before Domino could reply, the other girl had already strode towards the door, pulling it open to slip through it, and leaving Domino to shout ‘Okay!’ after her to make sure the other girl had heard.

When Domino turned back to Gamora, she was faced with the other girl wiping her eyes quickly, sniffling softly.

“I’m sorry, I just…”

“No need to explain.” Domino cut her off, voice gentle and understanding. The poor girl. Domino had no idea what she and her sister were truly going through at the moment, but she knew it couldn’t be easy.

“Are you sure you can have Nebula for a few days?” Gamora asked, straightening up slightly.

Domino shrugged one shoulder, unsure but quite confident she could convince her parents. “Probably. My house is kind of… the ‘safe space’ for my friends, anyway. I'll make sure she can stay with me. We’ll probably need a lot more food in the fridge, though.”

Gamora let out a watery laugh, nodding.

“Thanks Domino.” 

"What about you, will you be alright?" Domino inquired, tilting her head.

Gamora nodded again, wiping her eyes once more. "Yes. My father doesn't really... do anything to me. I'll talk to him and make sure he doesn't get mad when Nebula doesn't come home." Her face suddenly grew sombre. "I daresay he'd probably revel in her absence."

The words sent a chill down Domino's spine.

-+-

Domino’s parents had been a little bit dubious about letting another troubled teen stay in their home at first, but after a little explaining, Domino had thoroughly convinced them to let Nebula stay at least until the weekend. They had even offered to extend the stay, but Nebula, not wanting to overstep, had politely declined. 

When Domino asked how and what on Earth they had actually made them come to the school, they said they had been called for an ‘emergency meeting’ at the school, and had literally thought a student had died or something, the way Mrs Dust had been so urgent and insistent. They had apparently still had their bags with them at the school, since they had rushed to get to the school from their flight in order to be on time. It had pissed them off monumentally that it was just because of some homophobic jackasses that they had had to cut their business trip short, and so they were going to leave again in the morning, deciding on staying in a motel that night instead of at home. They were, however, pleased with the outcome of the meeting. Principal Xavier was going to remove the rule.

It was not going to be easy though, because of some of the highly-paid, highly-decorated parents that opposed the rule, but Principal Xavier had been very firm, and said that he was not going to budge on his standing. This delighted Domino and El, especially since Ronan’s mum had apparently threatened to remove Ronan from the school if Principal Xavier proceeded. Principal Xavier had, apparently, not cared, much to the woman’s outrage, and the amusement and satisfaction of almost everyone else. 

It seemed as though things were finally turning for the better, but Domino couldn’t stop thinking about Nebula and her problem for the rest of the day. Staying at Domino’s house was only a temporary solution. What would Nebula’s father do to her once she got back home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooft. I hope this chapter wasn't too heavy. I tried to handle it as delicately as possible. Please do tell me what you think.
> 
> And while Gamora believes she is, in this story, she isn't a terrible sister. in this story, she has no advanced combatant training, nothing. She's just an ordinary girl, who is frightened of her father.


	21. you and me, always, forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El's growth!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Always Forever by Cults

It was raining by the time school ended that day. Nebula slid into the right hand side of Domino’s car, dripping slightly, but not because of the rain. Juggernaut had sped through a puddle left by the rain on his way past Nebula (on purpose, obviously), and had sprayed muddy water all over her. Domino and El had been furious, with El crossly marching after the car (even though it was already disappearing around the corner) until Domino had pulled her back.

Nebula huffed with annoyance and shook herself slightly, wiping some of the muck off her clothes. “It’s fine, guys,” Nebula grumbled, trudging after them. “Can we please just get back to your house and out of this rain?” Domino and El exchanged a quick glance before agreeing and leading Nebula to Domino's car.

Nebula was slightly awkward on the way back to Domino’s house, though, and kept asking if it was ‘really okay’ with Domino’s parents that she stayed at their place. After some insistence from Domino, however, she quietened down and was currently staring out of Domino’s car window absently, seemingly lost in thought. 

Poor girl, Domino thought to herself. She’s been through so much.

El was playing some of her music through the bluetooth speakers of the car, and Domino could see her nodding her head to the beat in the rearview mirror. She had chosen to sit in the back seat with Nebula, and although she didn’t offer up much conversation, Nebula had looked quietly grateful at her presence. El wasn’t a nosy person. She was very introverted, and respectful of (most) people’s boundaries. Domino knew she was letting Nebula have time to herself for now, and was giving her the chance to speak to her only if the other girl wanted to. 

Domino felt a flash of warm pride for her friend. She had become a lot gentler and kinder to people, probably due to Yukio softening her up a bit. Domino knew El still had trouble accepting love from people. She saw her stiffening sometimes when Yukio held hands with her, and saw the pain flash in her gaze when Yukio said she loved her. It really sucked. Domino knew that her friend struggled now more than ever with the thought that her parents hated her. She really wished she could speak to El about it. But she couldn’t now. Not with Nebula here. Nebula needed a more relaxed atmosphere right now, (and El probably wouldn't share her feelings around Nebula either way) but Domino supposed she could ask El how she was feeling in private once they got home.

Domino pulled slowly into the driveway, and heard El turn to Nebula and offer to show her around the house. Domino hid a smile at El’s soft tone. With how hectic everything had been recently, Domino realised she hadn’t been able to slow down and appreciate her friend’s growth all that much, and seeing how kind she was to Nebula now, she knew she had to tell El how proud she was of her. She needed to discuss a lot of things with El. Gosh, Domino was getting choked up just thinking about it. Taking a deep breath, Domino hopped out of the car and locked it before walking up the stairs to her house, unlocking the door to let the other girls in. It was just as cold inside as it was outside, and El was already headed to the hearth to start a fire for them. ('Pyromaniac', Domino thought, rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time about the topic).

Domino turned to Nebula, who was milling about in the hallway, gazing around the house with curious eyes. 

“I can show you to the bathroom, if you like. So you can have a shower and get that mud off of you?” Domino offered, sweeping her hand around to gesture to the other girl to move forward. Nebula blinked. 

“I don’t have any other clothes.” Nebula replied, looking slightly embarrassed, her cheeks turning slightly pink. 

“You can borrow mine.” El’s voice sounded from the other room, and the warm orange glow that lit up the wall now told Domino her friend had been successful in lighting the fire. “I’ll leave them outside the door for you.”

Nebula hesitated momentarily, before jerking her head in a quick nod. “That would be… nice. Thanks.” She lowered her schoolbag to the ground, catching Domino’s eye as she did so questioningly.

Understanding, Domino nodded. “Yeah sure, leave it there. We’ll make sleeping arrangements after your shower.”

Domino then guided Nebula to the bathroom, and told her briefly how to work the shower (something all people should do, in Domino’s opinion), before leaving her to it to go and find El. She found her friend rummaging through her drawers in the spare guest room, now El’s bedroom. Domino knocked lightly on the door before entering, not that she had to, but because y’know, manners.

“How are you?” Domino asked quietly, coming over to sit on the edge El’s bed, watching her friend with soft eyes.

El grunted an ‘I’m fine.’, not even turning around to acknowledge her. 

Domino narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? You don’t look all that fine.”

El turned around to glare at her, but when she met Domino’s concerned gaze, her shoulders slumped slightly, and she averted her eyes. She nodded absently, gaze now locked on the floor.

Domino bit her lip. She patted the spot next to her on El’s blanket. “Sit?” She offered.

To Domino’s slight surprise, El stood up and walked over to sit beside her, eyes misty. Domino placed her hand on top of El’s, and El leaned on Domino’s shoulder lightly, accepting her friend’s comfort.

"Wanna talk about it?" Domino asked softly. El nodded slowly.

“I thought my mom was…” El began, but choked, and her eyes squeezed shut as she took a deep, shuddering breath, before continuing. “I thought she might accept me; you know? I thought she might… love me again. But… I was wrong.” She confessed, eyes still squeezed shut tightly. She swallowed thickly. “It’s stupid, but I don’t think it ever really dawned on me how much they hated me, until now. The last time I really spoke to my mom, she was… she was screaming at me, yeah, but parents fight with their kids all the time. It doesn’t mean they hate them. I thought she was just mad at me, and that when she calmed down, she’d love me still. But today, she just…” El trailed off, eyes open now but glazed with tears. “She just hates me all the time, I guess, no matter the mood.”

Pain clawed at Domino’s heart at hearing her friend’s resigned tone. She squeezed El’s hand tightly.

“I mean, it’s my fault anyway.” El continued savagely, her body beginning to shake against Domino’s “I’m a dyke.” She spat the word out like it was poison.

Domino shook her head slowly, anger and frustration beginning to well up inside of her. She hissed a curse word under her breath and hopped off the bed so she could crouch in front of El.

“No. Shut up.” Domino snapped. El blinked at her in mingled shock and confusion, leaning back. Domino softened her tone when she continued. “Don’t use that word to describe yourself. Would you call Yukio that?” 

El shook her head. 

“Why not, if that’s ‘what you are’?” Domino asked, locking eyes with her friend.

“Because it…” El trailed off. She blinked hard, forcing back her tears, Domino assumed. “It’s a bad word. She doesn’t deserve to be called a bad word.”

“And you do?” Domino pressed.

El shrugged helplessly. Domino frowned and bit her lip.

“I don’t think you do. You’re a good person, and an even better friend. I don’t exactly know why you think you don’t deserve love, but I’ll keep telling you you do until you believe it. Alright?”

El nodded tearfully and slid off the bed so they were crouching across from each other. Domino wiped the tears from her friend’s face carefully, before slipping her arms around El’s body in a tight embrace. El returned the hug, pressing her cheek into Domino’s shoulder.

“I love you, El.”

“I love you too, Domino.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter describing El's feelings. I feel like I needed to slow down a bit now and explore their characters a bit more at this point in the story, after all they've been through. Look at her! She's grown so much! So proud.
> 
> Not much Nebula in this chapter, we'll see more of her in the next one.
> 
> Also, serious talk, I have a... short aside that follows the events of the story if El had actually been sent off to the conversion camp, but I'm unsure if I should post it? I've never been to one of the camps before, but from what I've gathered, they're horrible, and there's a bit of a debate that's going on as to whether they should still be legal in Australia and America. I tried to be as factually correct as possible, of course, and drew inspiration from stories of girls and boys that have been sent to those camps.
> 
> I guess I kinda wanted to write the story a while ago after watching Season 2 of The Exorcist and seeing Verity (who is also played by Brianna Hildebrand!) and her life and feelings after the camp. 
> 
> I would've written it as a fic for The Exorcist but I felt like I understand Negasonic's character better than Verity's, and I already had a story to go off.
> 
> It's an alternate universe/timeline fic, and I just think it would be interesting to read for some of you. It has... quite a different tone and deals a lot more with mental illness and things sort of like PTSD, but it's not VERY graphic... depending on your definition of graphic..? There's mentions of self harm/suicide and bad thoughts, but I did NOT romanticise it. Tell me if you'd want to read that, and I'll post it!
> 
> Sorry, for rambling, hope you enjoy the story so far! It is, like I expected, progressing SO MUCH SLOWER THAN ORIGINALLY PLANNED! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END AGES AGO, LIKE, RIGHT AFTER PROM.


	22. I'm a loser, just like you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Nebula! More Ellie! More Momino!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Loser by Jagwar Twin

After their quick heart-to-heart, El was in a slightly better mood, but still lingered by Domino’s side a while longer before she seemed ready to part with Domino and listen to music by herself on the couch. Domino decided to do what she did best: help everyone eat their feelings away. She ordered two pizzas and made some hot chocolate for all of them, which was ready by the time Nebula slipped down the stairs. El was currently helping Domino by tidying up the house a bit, but glanced up when Nebula approached.

“Hi.” She greeted. “The clothes okay?”

Nebula glanced down at the pajamas, smiling slightly. It was just some short pajama pants, and what Domino assumed to be a pajama shirt beneath an oversized hoodie for comfort. El’s favourite way to live: buried in a hoodie.

“It’s fine, thank you.” Nebula replied. “Is that hot chocolate?” She added glancing curiously at the drinks Domino was preparing.

Domino beamed. “Yup. I made some for us, I hope you like it. Pizza’s coming too.” Nebula looked surprised, but she nodded nonetheless. 

“Thanks.”

“Marshmallows?” El asked, hopping up to go and open the pantry, rummaging around for the sweet confectionary. 

“Uhhh sure.” Nebula nodded, looking slightly embarrassed. 

Domino gestured toward the couch in the living room. “You can take a seat if you want, pick a movie or something.”

Nebula still looked slightly embarrassed (Domino wasn’t sure why though), but again nodded silently and slipped into the living room, before sighing softly and sitting down on the couch. Domino observed her curiously. She couldn’t help but wonder what her home life was like. She bit her lip, hoping Nebula felt safe here.

When the doorbell rang for the pizza, Nebula almost leaped out of her skin, spinning around with eyes wide with alarm. Domino felt a pang of unhappiness. It seemed she was worried about her father finding her here, or something like that. It made Domino sad to think she was in some kind of danger here, but her thinking was interrupted by El, who had bounded past her to get the door.

“I got it.” El called over her shoulder as she went up to the door, money in hand. El had recently been insisting on paying for more of the food and stuff, saying she didn’t want to be as much of a burden, and even though Domino and her parents assured her she wasn’t one, she still refused to let them pay for everything. This seemed to be one of those times. 

Nebula slumped on the couch again, shoulders sagging with relief. She blew a short breath out of her nose, closing her eyes. Domino took three plates over to her on the couch and sat down, leaving room for El to sit as the other girl brought the pizza boxes over. 

El jumped on the couch with the pizzas in hand, before serving some pizza to everyone. “What movie did you pick?” She asked conversationally, finally settling back into the couch with her own pizza. 

“Oh. I picked Ready Player One. There doesn’t seem to be much else on.” Nebula answered, seemingly grateful to have the attention off her for a few moments.

El nodded taking a bite out of her pizza. “It’s not bad. Book’s better though.” She mumbled around her mouthful. Domino rolled her eyes. Nerd.

Nebula, seeming to have the same thought, snorted softly. “Geek.” She smirked, and El answered by flipping the bird at her. 

“Having taste does not make you a geek. Yukio agrees with me too!” She retorted, but her eyes held a playful sparkle, and Nebula stuck her tongue out at her. 

“Yukio’s obliged to agree with you. She’s your girlfriend.”

“Is not! And I meant the obliged part, not the girlfriend part by the way. Just so you know.”

Nebula rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, geek.” She drawled.

Domino snorted and held up her hand for silence. “Shut up guys, movie’s on.” She cut them off.

El and Nebula exchanged a glance and El rolled her eyes dramatically. 

“Geek.” Nebula breathed, sinking back into the sofa some more.

Domino elbowed her lightly in the arm. Nebula flinched, shrinking away from Domino. Ah, shit. Domino mentally kicked herself and hurried to apologise. She had totally forgotten about her friend’s… situation. Nebula mumbled something along the lines of ‘It’s okay’, and they continued to watch the film, this time in awkward silence.

El later took all of their plates away silently for washing up, and Nebula turned to Domino once again, the small incident seemingly forgotten.

“So, where am I sleeping?” Nebula asked briskly, as if trying to lighten the mood. Oh, yeah. Domino had totally forgotten about that; she so used to have El sleep in her room while she was over for the night. Hmmm… where could Nebula sleep? El was sleeping in the guest room now, so Nebula couldn’t stay there. She could pull out the inflatable mattress for herself and give Nebula her bed? Her room was a mess, though. Noticing Domino’s stumped expression, Nebula shrugged and rolled back over.

“I can sleep on the couch, if you want. I’m not fussy at all, I’d be happy to sleep here.” She shuffled slightly so that she was sunk further into the cushions, as if for emphasis. “It’s comfy here, anyway.”

“No! You can’t sleep here!” Domino exclaimed, cheeks beginning to warm up. She couldn’t have Nebula, an abused kid, sleeping on the couch in the freezing cold living room for the next few days on a bumpy couch, that even Domino couldn’t sit on for that long. She was positive that Nebula was just being polite when she said it was comfortable. Nebula looked embarrassed too, now.

“No really, it’s fine. I’ve slept in worse places.” Nebula attempted to ease Domino’s mind, but it just made her feel worse. When Domino opened her mouth to offer her bedroom, El’s voice piped up from behind her.

“You can take my room.” El offered, coming back over to sit beside Domino on the couch again. “It’s pretty tidy, and I changed the sheets of the bed this morning. It would be easier if you slept there instead of pulling out all the blankets and stuff.”

Nebula blinked at her before narrowing her eyes. “Where will you sleep?”

Domino glanced at El, smiling softly. Thanks, El. “She can sleep with me in my room.” Domino supplied, and El nodded. 

“Yup. Sounds good.” 

Nebula looked conflicted for a moment, and Domino thought she might open her mouth and argue to sleep on the couch for a moment, but thankfully, she stayed silent and just nodded her agreement.

“Okay. If it’s not too much trouble, that sounds good.” 

El waved her hand dismissively. “No trouble. I’ll go put your bag in my room and get some of my stuff out now, if you don’t mind. Pause the movie for me.”

“Sure.” Nebula shrugged. “I won’t touch anything while I’m in there, anyway.” She paused the movie.

“I know you won’t. I’m just getting clothes, mostly, so I don’t have to bust into the bedroom and wake you up in the morning to get some.” El stood up to go and fix up the room for Nebula, but paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Speaking of clothes, I’ll text Gamora to get some of yours for the next few days. For tomorrow, you can just borrow some of mine, seeing as you fit them.”

Nebula looked a little bit surprised, but nodded gratefully at El before she left, before sinking back down and gazing at Domino.

“I don’t want to cause too much trouble.” She whispered. “Ellie doesn’t need to do all this stuff for me.”

Domino shrugged. “It’s nothing. And El wouldn’t offer if she minded.”

Nebula narrowed her eyes. “Before this last couple months, I wouldn’t have expected her to be so… soft.” She smirked slightly. “She always seemed so tough and edgy, and then she went and punched Juggernaut and… I don’t know, I just wouldn’t have expected all of this from her.”

Domino nodded, brow furrowing thoughtfully. “I think she feels better taking care of people than having people take care of her. She’s very self sufficient, and she’s used to being independent, but here, she’s completely dependent on me and my family for like… everything. I think she likes having a little more responsibility.” Nebula nodded, her eyes softening slightly in understanding, but still retaining that ever-present guardedness. 

“I get that.” Nebula conceded. “She’s pretty selfless for someone so independent, though. Sometimes I think I put so much space between myself and others that it’s… hard to care about anyone else at all.” Nebula shuffled uncomfortably. “Does that make me a bad person?” Domino was suddenly struck by how alike the two girls were and she shook her head mutely in response. 

“No. It doesn’t make you a bad person for protecting yourself.” 

Nebula relaxed slightly. 

Domino gazed at the stairs that El had just disappeared up, before continuing quietly. “She’s always been selfless though. She’d gladly give up everything she owned for someone else. Since she’s been with Yukio, she’s totally been showing her emotions more too, but that’s okay. It just makes it easier to understand her more. She lets us in more.”

Nebula snorted. “I don’t think I can do that. Let people in, I mean.” Blinking at Domino, she added. “Yet.” Eyes darkening, she looked away and muttered softly. “It just brings pain and disappointment.” It didn’t seem like Domino was supposed to hear that part.

Domino nodded, pushing down the sadness she felt for her friend. “I understand.” A pause. “Do you wanna talk about anything?”

Nebula huffed in wry amusement. “Not really.” 

“Okay.”

At that point, El came trotting back down the stairs, humming softly with one earphone in her ear. “What did I miss?” She asked as she jumped onto the couch.

“Nothing much.” Domino replied, leaning over to grab the remote and unpause the movie. They watched it in comfortable silence for another 20 minutes or so, before Nebula spoke up again.

“You talk to Gamora sometimes, don’t you?” Nebula asked, seemingly talking to no one in particular as she gazed at the tv absently.

Domino paused the movie. “Yeah, sometimes.” She responded.

“And you?” Nebula fixed her gaze on El. 

“Yeah, sure. Not a lot, but I assume that’ll change now.” El looked curious at the sudden interrogation.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that our groups are getting closer, so naturally I’ll talk to her more.” El replied.

Nebula nodded slowly, eyebrows furrowed. “How does she seem?”

Domino and El exchanged a confused glance. “What do you mean?” Domino asked for them.

“Does she seem… nice or mean or… bitchy or… pretentious or… what? How does she seem?” Nebula looked embarrassed and in turn angry at being embarrassed. 

“She seems nice.” El replied slowly. “She talks about you more than anything else. Well, to me she does.”

“Really?” Nebula seemed surprised. “What does she say?”

“Nothing bad.” El assured her. “She’s mostly just… worried about you. Your wellbeing. Stuff like that.”

“Oh.” Nebula breathed, eyes clouding with something momentarily before she looked away.

“She cares about you a lot.” El added, voice soft. Nebula didn’t say anything, but jerked her head in a sharp nod, and waved her hand at the tv screen.

“Movie.” She grunted, not turning back to look at either of them. Domino unpaused the movie again.

Domino’s stomach churned slightly as she looked between her two friends. They’d both been through a lot today. Nebula shuddered slightly as Domino she gazed at her, and Domino bit her lip anxiously. Needless to say, Domino was getting up extra early the next morning to make pancakes for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes sorry for the long wait and the boring chapter guys, I just needed to have this Nebula scene here before the upcoming events. Try not to get TOO attached to her, I'm still tossing up what's going to happen. 3 out of the 4 things are not good things. You've been warned.


	23. I broke the glass, and you were there, to sweep it aside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girl Chat 2.0!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Oleander by Mother Mother

Although Nebula remained reluctant to share much about her home life over the course of the week, it became evident that she enjoyed staying with Domino and El at their house. She fit in pretty perfectly, in fact, and was having fun trying new things that she hadn’t tried before; playing videogames with El, (and winning, although El insisted she let her) and even attempting to cook with Domino. She also pulled her own weight around the house, insisting on cleaning after meals and helping out when tidying up the house, even though El told her she didn’t have to. Nebula seemed to take her own personal kind of joy in helping out and doing things with the other girls, which Domino suspected didn’t happen much at her house. 

Domino and El agreed that Nebula’s stay with them was far too short, but no matter how hard they pleaded with her, she refused to stay for another week. They did, however, manage to make her relent enough for her to stay over the weekend, much to their delight. El and Domino were determined to have a good weekend with Nebula, an idea that Domino’s parents wholly supported.

“Maybe go out for a meal and a movie?” Domino’s mom suggested over Friday night’s dinner. Domino grinned at her mother gratefully, and with a quick glance at El and Nebula, she could tell they liked the idea too. After some discussion between them in Domino’s room, Domino and El on the bed and Nebula slouching in a bean bag, they collectively decided to invite both of their groups for lunch and a movie. At first, Nebula was a little bit hesitant, and wrinkled her nose at the thought of inviting her sister, but Domino pressed that it would be a good bonding experience, and while the other girl scoffed at the idea of ‘bonding’ with her sister, she nonetheless agreed to letting her come.

“So, what movie should we pick?” El asked, lying across Domino’s bed. Domino shrugged next to her. 

“Whatever you guys want.” She didn’t honestly care, as long as it made Nebula happy. It’s not like it’s ‘all about her’ or anything, she just thought the other girl deserved a little more happiness before returning to her father the following Monday.

Nebula conferred with Mantis for a bit over text about their options, sensing that the girls wanted her to make the decision, and she finally settled on picking the next Jurassic Park movie, which El was ecstatic about.

“I was honestly hoping you’d pick that.” She confessed, ordering their tickets online, Domino peering over her shoulder. Yikes. Their groups took up an entire row at the cinema. People better not seat swap and steal their spots, Domino thought. El and Domino slid off the bed to lie on El’s inflatable mattress, which was situated closer to Nebula, and El and Nebula simultaneously challenged each other to a Mariokart competition. Nebula had gotten progressively better at the game as the week progressed, and was determined to ‘beat El’s ass’ before she went home.

When El quickly moved into the lead halfway through their first race, Nebula hooked a pillow off the floor with her right foot and launched it with surprising precision at El. The other girl squawked with shock as she tried to dodge the assault, but was promptly driven off the road in the process, and Nebula took the lead.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” El cried, trying and failing to scoop up the pillow with one hand and drive with the other to get the other girl back. Nebula sniggered and ignored her futile attempt at retaliation, swatting the pillow away easily.

“No rules against it.” She teased, crossing the finish line again for her third lap, the number ‘1’ shining in the corner of her screen.

El’s jaw dropped in outrage, and Domino heard her mumble ‘cheater’ before trying to drive a green shell up Nebula’s behind. Domino grinned and rolled her eyes, remembering the last time she’d been in this position, with El versing Yukio. Hey, they were almost in the same spots too! At that thought, Domino knew instantly what they were gonna do after El and Nebula finished racing.

When Nebula beat out El in the last race, leaving her as the reigning champion, El threw her controller on the floor with a shout of frustration, before pointing an accusing finger at Nebula.

“You only won ‘cause you cheated!” El cried, pouting, and Nebula laughed and hacked another pillow at El’s head.

“Admit it! I won! I won! I bested you in Mariokart racing!” Nebula crowed, lunging towards El to poke her in the side. El grunted and pushed her away with a scowl.

“Girlieeees. No fighting.” Domino chided them in a sing-song voice. “Besides, you know what time it is.” 

El and Nebula exchanged a quizzical look, obviously forgetting the most important part of the typical Girl Sleepover.

It was time for another Girl Chat.

“Girl Chat!” Domino cheered, jumping up and hurrying over to a pillow on the floor, before crossing her legs and gesturing at the other two pillows in front of her. “Sit.”

El groaned and oberyed, dragging herself dramatically towards the pillow, her earlier grumpiness at losing the match forgotten and being replaced with a new, different kind of grumpiness. Nebula followed behind slightly slower, still looking confused.

Domino started them off, clearing her throat and cracking her knuckles, which prompted another confused look from Nebula. Domino smirked to herself. She probably thought they were going to start wrestling or something. Ha! No. They’re not THAT childish. “I have questions, girls, because I obviously have no experience in the ‘relationship’ area.” She began, leaning forwards slightly.

El and Nebula exchanged another look, and El smirked. “What, you mean you have questions about relationships in general, like, dating, or lesbian relationships.” Domino’s jaw dropped.

“Dating, obviously!” She spluttered and El’s smirk grew.

“Well I was just asking ‘cause you don’t have experience in either topic, you know, and we do.” She teased, and all of Domino’s previous thoughts about wrestling being childish went out the window as she threw herself at El, pinning the other girl beneath her.

This only egged El on.

“You take that back, or else.” Domino threatened, leaning down close to El’s face to glower at her more effectively.

“Being hasty, are we?” El gasped, arms pinned either side of her head, eyes wide with fake shock. “Well, alright, if you insist…” with that, El pouted and leaned up towards Domino, as if to kiss her.

Domino shrieked and leapt off of her. “No! Stop it!” She cried, scrambling backwards.

“Stop what?” El tilted her head innocently. Domino’s only response was a gag. Nebula glanced between them, eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

“Is there something going on here that I’m not aware of?” Nebula asked seriously, crossing her arms.

“Well, there’s nothing going on with me, you’ll have to ask El. She was the one who tried to kiss me.” Domino hastily defended, and it was El’s turn for her jaw to drop and to become speechless as a blush lit up her cheeks.

“I was just teasing her! If I’d known people would have taken it seriously I wouldn’t have done it!” El burst out, holding her hands up as if in surrender, cheeks flaming red.

Domino laughed and prodded her. “It’s alright El, I knew you were just playing. Kind of.” She teased, biting back another quip when El spun around to stare at her with a mortified expression.

Nebula just sighed. “You guys are so weird.”

Domino fell into a fit of giggles, and after a few more moments of horrified silence, El cracked a smile too and relaxed.

“So, questions about relationships.” El prompted, settling herself into a more comfortable position on the floor and changing the topic. “Is this about anyone specifically? Or do you just wanna like, know stuff.”

Domino tilted her head. “Both. Kinda. And I wanna know about how you guys’ relationships are going.”

El, while Domino had been talking, had regained her aghast expression, and Domino blinked in confusion at her. “What?”

“You never told me you liked anyone!” El exclaimed, eyes round, and although there was a teasing note in her voice, Domino could see a hint of hurt shining in her eyes.

“No no… I’m not even sure if I like him.” Domino continued hurriedly, but El still had a disappointed look on her face, and Domino felt a pang of guilt. She hadn’t really been thinking about him that much, she had just wanted to start a conversation so that she could see how THEIR relationships were going… mostly.

“I didn’t tell you outright cause I’m not sure about it, and I was hoping to get advice about it from both of you first, since you’re already dating people.” Domino explained, and the hurt look faded from El’s eyes as she nodded understandingly.

“Okay… so…” El tilted her head at Domino curiously. “Who is it?”

Domino blushed furiously, opening her mouth to speak but closing it again, before Nebula suddenly cut in.

“It’s Cable.” She stated in a matter-of-fact kind of voice.

Domino stared at Nebula in surprise. El blinked at Domino. “Is that true? Do you like Cable? I mean, I saw you together on prom night, but I didn’t realise it was serious…” She trailed off. 

Domino spluttered and scrambled for an answer.

“Well… I don’t know but… how did you –?” 

“Know?” Nebula offered, and Domino nodded silently. Nebula smirked.

“It’s a gift.” She crooned.

El was nodding slowly. “Actually, yeah. Now that you mention it, it makes a tonne of sense. I can totally see it now.”

Domino looked desperately between them. “I don’t know! I mean, maybe but… I don’t think… I’ve never had feelings for someone before!” Domino finally threw her hands in the air in frustration and huffed irritably, looking away embarrassedly. 

“That’s fine.” Nebula waved her hand dismissively. “You’ll figure it out pretty quickly, I expect.”

That didn’t ease Domino’s turbulent thoughts. “How did you guys know?” Domino blurted out, and El smiled and looked away.

“You just know.” She said mysteriously, and Domino huffed again.

“Gee, thanks.” She said sarcastically.

“No problem.”

Grumbling, Domino rolled her eyes. “So, what about you two? How are your relationships going?” She asked, diverting the attention from herself, although a bit clumsily.

El stretched herself out over the pillow luxuriously, sighing happily. How cute. “It’s good. Yukio’s great.” El replied confidently.

Domino smiled at her friend warmly, her irritation melting away at her friend’s content expression. No matter how unsure of herself she was, Domino knew that El knew that her place was beside Yukio. Domino turned to Nebula.

“And you?”

Nebula blinked. “Me? And Mantis? We’re… we’re pretty good.” But Nebula didn’t sound so sure.

Domino didn’t comment and neither did El, letting their friend open up on her own if she wanted to. Nebula’s gaze flickered between the two girls uncertainly for a moment, as if wondering if she should say anything to them at all. Eventually, however, she caved.

“I don’t know if Mantis is happy.” Nebula confessed. “You can make Yukio happy, El, but I don’t know if I can make Mantis happy.” She looked away, expression twisting.

El tilted her head. “Mantis seems fine. I think she’s happy enough making you happy for now.” She assured her. Nebula turned back to look at her bleakly.

“I wanna make HER happy, though. I don’t wanna leech off her happiness.” She protested, crossing her arms.

El reached out to touch Nebula’s arm gently. “I don’t think Mantis sees it that way.” El murmured softly. Nebula looked down unhappily and didn’t reply.

El tipped her head and retracted her hand. “I think it’s ok to focus on your own mental state right now. I mean, you’re clearly not… having a pleasant time at home.” Nebula recoiled at her words, lip curling slightly in anger. El continued hurriedly, trying to soothe her. “But Mantis on the other hand seems okay. She understands that you’re not gonna be happy 100% of the time, and she’s okay with that. She’ll continue supporting you until you’re in a position that you can start getting… better. That’s what girlfriends do.”

Domino knew El was referencing Yukio cheering her up and reassuring her that she loved her, because El has issues with abandonment and the likes, so it was sometimes hard for her to be happy too. Nebula’s tension began to ease as she nodded slowly.

“I’ll make her as happy as I can.” Nebula stated firmly, her eyebrows drawn together into a serious frown.

“We know.” El replied smoothly, relaxing back slightly. “How’s Gamora?” 

Uh oh. That was a mistake. Nebula instantly bristled again and glared at her, and Domino half expected her to snap, but she merely replied with a cold: “I don’t know. You can ask her yourself tomorrow.”

El seemed unaffected by Nebula’s sudden hostility, instead narrowing her eyes thoughtfully at the other girl. “You know she cares about you, right?” El pointed out. Oh geez, El. I wouldn’t go there if I were you. Domino clamped her mouth shut, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

“Can we just drop it?” Nebula snapped. “I don’t want to talk about her.”

“I’m just making sure you know!” El defended herself. “I wish I had someone in my family that actually cared about me!”

Domino recoiled slightly. Oh dear.

Nebula narrowed her eyes dangerously. “You think she ‘cares’ about me?” She demanded. “Ha! If she cared about me, wouldn’t she try to make sure I don’t get hurt? She’s lying. She’s trying to make herself seem better than she really is around you people. At home, when my dad goes into a rage and attacks me, she does nothing! Just sulks in her room until it’s over! That’s not caring about me!” Nebula was almost hysterical with rage, her eyes wild with fury and pain. 

El stared at her silently for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before beginning to speak again slowly. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I think you need to hear it. Gamora doesn’t want you to know because she doesn’t want it to seem like she’s defending her… lack of interference, and trying to get you to like her or whatever.” Nebula snorted angrily, but didn’t say anything, so El ignored it and continued calmly. “She said that she can’t defend you when he’s in a rage because she’s frightened of getting hurt herself, and needs to stay on his good side. She says she knows that’s not a very good reason, but she said she probably wouldn’t still be here without self preservation instincts. She’s a kid, just like you. She also said that because she’s on his ‘good side’, she tries to help you – “

“ - Since when??” Nebula cut her off furiously.

“Afterwards! She said she makes sure that you eat and clean yourself up after… things happen. She tries to make sure you’re okay. She also tries to keep you out of trouble so nothing happens in the first place. Apparently, she cleans up the house constantly and does chores and cooks so that your father has less reasons to get mad, so that there’s less of a chance he’s going to go off at you for nothing.”

Something like realisation seems to dawn on Nebula’s face, and she reels backward as if she’d been slapped. She shakes her head

“No, she cleans and does all of that stuff so that he doesn’t hurt HER. She’s making sure she’s the favourite child.” She argues, although she sounds slightly less certain.

El shakes her head. “No, she’s not. She’s trying to protect you. She doesn’t leave the house without you so that you’re not home alone with him. That’s why she doesn’t go out when you’re grounded. She gives you money she earns from the chores so that you can get food for lunch and stuff. She encourages you to go out with friends more so you’re not at home a much. She tries to make sure you’re out of the way when you are at home though, reminding you about homework and stuff to keep you out of sight.”

Nebula is stiff with shock. Her eyes are wide and her jaw is slack. She looks almost like she doesn’t WANT to believe what she’s being told.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” Nebula rasped. “And when did she tell you?”

“She knew you wouldn’t accept it.” El answered softly. “And she sent me a huge paragraph after I texted her asking her to get your clothes. Said she wanted someone to know, because she always feels so guilty for not being able to protect you when her attempts at appeasing your dad don’t work.” A hint of desperation entered El’s voice. “She loves you. She loves you so much, that seeing you get hurt kills her. She wants you to let her love you.”

There were tears in Nebula’s eyes, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly and shook her head fervently, as if trying to dislodge the thought of it from her brain.

“I can’t.” She groaned through gritted teeth, and El reached out to touch her arm again. 

“Yes you can.” She murmured, her voice gentle but firm. “Just try, okay? She’s trying really hard. It sucks, what you’re going through. It is so so terrible and awful, but you can’t block out the people that love you.” 

Nebula sniffed and shook her head again. To Domino’s shock, she suddenly grabbed the hand El had placed on her arm and pulled her in for a hug, burying her face in El’s shoulder, like El had done so many times to Domino. El seemed surprised too, but returned the hug, gently stroking the back of Nebula’s head.

Domino blinked at El, feeling tears well in her own eyes at the sight of her friend comforting Nebula. El was gazing absently at the floor, thoughts swimming in her eyes like fish, unreadable, but Domino knew she was considering her own words that she had just told Nebula. El seemed to sense Domino’s eyes on her, because she turned her head to glance back at her curiously. Her gaze softened when their eyes met, and she gave Domino a small smile.

Domino blinked and wiped her eyes, pride warming her heart. 

“Good girl chat!” She announced, clapping her hands together and causing Nebula to jump and pull away from El. 

“Sorry.” Domino ducked her head in embarrassment. “I keep doing that.”

Nebula huffed amusedly, and El rolled her eyes.

“It’s fine.” El sighed, rolling over and sitting up. “I think it’s time for bed now, anyway.”

Domino nodded. “Agreed.”

Nebula shuffled on the spot, looking awkward. “Can I… stay here for tonight? With you guys?”

Domino and El exchanged a surprised look. “Ok, sure.” El replied, clambering over the haphazardly strewn pillows to reach the inflatable mattress. “You can sleep next to me, if you don’t mind the mattress.”

“If you want to sleep on the bed, you can either sleep with me or I can sleep with El and you can have the bed.” Domino offered, standing up and stretching, eyes sliding closed as she did so. When she opened them again however, she was faced with Nebula and El sitting on the inflatable mattress and smirking at her.

Domino blinked, confused. “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang it, Domino! Always ruining the mood! I was meant to have them travel straight to the cinemas, but I wanted to slow down and take a deeper look into the girls' relationships, particularly Nebula's. Hope you guys don't mind!
> 
> As of now, I have 7-9 planned chapters before the end of the story! I say 7-9 because I'm thinking of joining a few chapters.
> 
> MORE BANTS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!! Hopefully it'll be a fun read, not sure when it'll be out cause I got exams. Two weeks, maybe? Sooner? Later? I don't know.
> 
> Anyway, I'm exhausted guys. Hope you enjoy the chapter!


	24. Lazy Summer Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie day! Bants! Fun times! Nothing will go wrong??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Mt. Washington by Local Natives.

After snagging a quick pancake breakfast the next morning courtesy of Domino, the trio set off to the cinemas, pockets full of money to spend shopping and buying food. There was a positive atmosphere surrounding the small group following the events of the previous night, but a few glances at Nebula on the drive down to the shops told Domino that she was nervous about greeting her sister.

 

She didn’t chime in to the conversation that Domino and El were having about which was better, the first Alien movie or the sequels, and she bounced her leg occasionally, staring vacantly out the window. Domino had seen this with El on her first outing with Yukio at the cinemas, so at first she’d thought it had something to do with them meeting Mantis, but after (rather casually) mentioning Gamora in their quarrel, Nebula tensed up and shot a furtive look at them, confirming Domino’s other suspicions about the sister being the issue.

 

It was a rare sight to see, Nebula being nervous, particularly when confronted with thoughts of her sister. The only emotion that usually accompanied any mention of Gamora was anger, but now she was _nervous_ about their meeting. Was that a good sign? A sign that maybe the rivalry between the two of them could be averted? Domino supposed they’d just have to wait and see.

 

When Domino, Nebula and El arrived at the Nova Café next to the cinemas, they were greeted by instantly by Quill and Wade and the rest of their friends, who waved them over to a booth they had saved. Domino noted upon closer inspection that Drax and Piotr were absent.

 

“Hey, where are Piotr and Drax?” Domino asked, sliding into a seat next to Wade.

 

“Oh, they’re just out shopping for some workout stuff. Said they’d meet us later,” Wade replied, stirring what appeared to be a chocolate milkshake with his straw. “I would’ve gone with them, but, y’know, I think I’m ripped enough.”

 

Vanessa, on the other side of him, rolled her eyes.

 

Domino witnessed in the corner of her eye Nebula hugging Gamora awkwardly before breaking away, in a moment that ends far too quickly in Domino’s opinion. Nebula then hurried over to the table and slid in next to Mantis, who took her hand with a warm smile. Nebula blushed, looking down with a small smile of her own.

 

Gamora raised an eyebrow questioningly at Domino, which Domino returns with a shrug and a grin.

 

“Okay, who’s hungry?” Wade asked, lifting up the menu. Vanessa plucked it from his hands, a frown on her face.

 

“You’ve already eaten two waffles and had a milkshake. That’s no more for you until lunch.” Vanessa scolded, folding up the menu and handing it to Gamora across the table.

 

“We’ve already eaten too,” Domino added, passing her menu to Rocket to share with Groot.

 

El huffed, picking up her own menu. “I’m still hungry though.”

 

Domino sighed, rolling her eyes. “Of course you are.”

 

Wade was outraged. "Hey! She gets more food but not me! No fair!"

 

Before long, everyone who wanted to/was allowed to eat had placed their orders, and had resumed their banter. Domino caught Yukio giving El a sly kiss on the cheek, which made the other girl’s face redden. She was not the only one to see them, apparently, because Wade and Peter smirked and made snogging noises at each other. El almost lunged over the table to strangle them both, but Vanessa and Gamora did the honours and slap them both over the head to get them to stop.

 

Domino chuckled, turning to Rocket and Groot who were sitting at the end of the table and were deep in conversation.

 

“… need you to cause a distraction while I go and swipe it, okay?” Rocket was whispering urgently to Groot. Groot looked uncomfortable, but nodded, and Rocket gave him a wicked grin.

 

“What are you doing?” Domino asked, making the two of them almost jump out of their skin. It was then that the two of them realised that they had an audience, which had fallen silent to listen to the rest of their conversation.

 

Rocket blinked in surprise, and attempted to deflect their attention. “Uhhhh… nothing?” (Nice try, Rocket).

 

“He’s planning on stealing that guy’s prosthetic leg,” Nebula supplied, idly studying her fingernails and nodding in the direction of an old man with his fake leg propped up next to his table.

 

“Shut up!” Rocket hissed in response, obviously caught out.

 

Domino stared at him in shock. “Why the hell would you wanna do that?”

 

“He’s got a _thing_ for stealing prosthetics,” Gamora explained. “I don’t know why, though.”

 

“It’s funny!” Rocket answered, like it was somehow obvious. “Besides, I don’t _keep_ them; I put them back eventually.”

 

“I still don’t see what’s so funny about it.” Gamora frowned at him disapprovingly.

 

Rocket put up his hands defensively. “Come _on,_ Gams! They just _hop_ after you! Ain’t that just a _little_ bit funny?”

 

No one answered. The table stared at Rocket with silent judgement. A quiet wheezing sound interrupted the quiet, however, and everyone turned their stares onto Wade, who was doubled over and clutching his stomach, shoulders shaking with breathy laughter.

 

Finally, he managed to gasp out: “They just hop!”

 

Rocket shared his laughter, and the tension around the table melted away, replaced by bubbly laughter.

 

“Wait, wait…” Domino waved her hands to get the others’ attention in between their laughter. “If you like stealing prosthetics so much, why haven’t you stolen Nebula’s?”

 

“Oh I have.” Rocket replied, a sly grin on his face. “After that… erm… _experience_ , I’ve only ever gone for the legs so they can’t chase after me.”  
  
El narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Nebula. “What did you do to him?”

 

“Lets just say, if I’d had both of my arms functional, I would’ve successfully strangled him.” Nebula answered, an ominous look on her face.

 

The table burst into another fit of laughter, and even Nebula managed a small smirk.

 

“Okay, okay…” Peter interrupted the giggling this time. “Rocket, you ain’t taking anyone’s legs. Yondu’s paying me to keep you out of trouble. In fact, I should report this incident to him…”  


Rocket narrowed his eyes. “You tell him about the leg, I’ll tell him you egged Ronan’s car after prom.”

 

“You did too!”

 

“Oh yeah. Nevermind then.”

 

The brothers continued to blackmail each other all throughout breakfast, only stopping when they separated to go shopping at the mall before the movie.

 

“Let’s go clothes shopping, babe!” Wade exclaimed. Vanessa rolled her eyes good-naturedly and held out her hand for him to take, but he brushed past her and took Peter’s hand instead. Peter gasped and slapped his hand over his chest as if this was some grand gesture, before giving Wade a sappy-looking smile. Vanessa gaped after them as they skipped off in the direction of the clothes section of the mall. Rocket rolled his eyes and beckoned to Groot to follow him as he stalked off after Peter and Wade.

 

“Looks like you’re coming with us.” Domino smiled half-apologetically, half-amusedly at Gamora and Vanessa, who were exchanging a look of dumbfounded astonishment. Then, Gamora shook her head after Peter with a huff and took Vanessa’s hand, strutting back to Domino and the other two couples with their chins held high.

 

“Their loss!” She declared, coming to a halt beside Domino. “Where to first?”

 

“I wanna get some new clothes.” El announced. “Winter’s almost here and I still only have my summer clothes.”

 

Domino eyed her jeans, jacket and boots skeptically. “ _That’s_ what you’re calling ‘summer clothes’?”

 

El crossed her arms defensively, glaring at Domino in annoyance. Before she could speak, Nebula cut in, a smirk on her face.

 

“They’re called _gay_ clothes, Domino. We wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

 

Domino’s jaw dropped, but Gamora interrupted her before she could deliver a stinging retort.

 

“How about we all just go shopping?” She set off in the direction of one of the clothes stores. “I’m sure you can explain to Domino all the nuances of gay fashion while we’re in there.”

 

Domino pouted. Why were they all picking on her?? Again?? El nudged her in passing with her shoulder, flashing her a warm smile to show that she was just teasing. Relaxing, Domino returned the smile with one of her own, and trotted to catch up with them.

 

A group of teenage girls that Domino didn’t recognise stood outside the store. They narrowed their eyes judgementally at the two couples when they passed them, and El instinctively shook her hand from Yukio’s, eyes training on the floor while pink stained her cheeks. Yukio gave her a hurt look and took her hand again, squeezing it reassuringly. El blinked shyly up at Yukio, who beamed at her and kissed her on the cheek.

 

Domino bit back a smile at the interaction, and instead glared in return at the girls as they passed. The offending people averted their eyes almost instantly and scurried off, leaving Domino to bask in the satisfaction of her triumph.

 

The rest of their shopping adventure went on without much incident, and soon they were all laden with shopping bags. Nebula even got some new earrings, much to Mantis’ delight. Nebula never got herself nice things, apparently, so it made the girl very happy that her girlfriend was finally treating herself.

 

They met Piotr, Drax and the rest of the boys at the cinema, as promised, and went to the food bar to grab some snacks, while Domino printed off their tickets. She returned to the group shortly after, tickets in hand.

 

“Ready to go?” Domino asked, passing the tickets out to each of them.

 

“Yep.” Vanessa replied, slapping Wade’s hand away from the popcorn bucket in her possession. He pouted, folding his arms, and made his way over to Piotr, who rolled his eyes and offered his bucket to Wade.

 

“No! Don’t encourage him!” Vanessa cried, dragging Wade back. “Bad Wade!” She scolded, smacking him upside the head.

 

“Hey!” He cried indignantly, rubbing his head and glaring at her.

 

Domino sighed, shaking her head in amusement. It had been quite a while since they’d all hung out like this. They’d all been so worried about prom and El’s parents and exams that they hadn’t had time to slow down and smell the roses together.

 

She’d really, _really_ missed this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Long time no see, eh? *nervous sweating*
> 
> I have no real excuse for abandoning this fic except that I ran out of steam and could find no motivation to continue it. I just didn’t FEEL like writing for Deadpool, so, well… I wrote for my other two fics surrounding the Avengers instead heh. Go check out Life Itself by the way, if you like Steve and Wanda (as FRIENDS). Of course there will be more characters but they are the main avengers thus far. 
> 
> BUT, even though the Avengers stole me away from this fic for two months they aren’t ALL bad… because… well… they brought me back to this one! I have an itching need to finish this fic so that I can start the two side stories I sort of have planned that overlap this fic slightly. One surrounding the Avengers, the other surrounding the Guardians.
> 
> I am still tossing up what characters to centre around with those two fics. Keeping in mind that I want to keep them a similar style to this one (best friend supporting character of a relationship, because, idk for some reason I like reading about other characters observing other characters?? Than being the main focus of a relationship?? I am honestly not too sure…) HOWEVER I am tossing up having Bucky be the perspective of the Avengers fic. 
> 
> The main relationships that will be focused on will of course be Bucky/Steve and Nebula/Mantis (so if you like gay fluff similar to this story LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE FICS), although there will be background relationships occurring (Wanda/Vision, minor hints of Steve/Peggy although I have some rather interesting ideas for where I’d like to take Peggy, Pietro/OCs. Lots of OCs.)
> 
> ALSO the new Avengers trailer broke my heart with Shuri being missing, so if you were also hoping for news about SKOMO (my OTHER other fic) I’m afraid after this chapter I have planned, you’re in for a long, depressing wait. (No Shuri-meets-Nebula moments?? No!).
> 
> So, with that being said I am super excited to continue working on this fic, perhaps going back and refining it (and perhaps adding a few more scenes surrounding The Gang, because, honestly, there have been disappointingly FEW scenes with them in it), and I will tell you if I do add them so you can go back and read them! 
> 
> TL;DR: I need help deciding the main characters of my other two fics that will branches of this story.   
> Avengers: MC being either TONY, BUCKY, STEVE or maybe even a mix of these three characters. Maybe even Natasha I DON’T KNOW THIS IS WHY I NEED HELP! Suggest a character that you would like to have the perspective from down below I will definitely take into account all suggestions.  
> Guardians: Mantis, Gamora or Peter Q. Those are my main choices, probably leaning more toward Mantis.  
> Sorry if any of you read SKOMO, my other fic. You’re in for an indefinite wait for the end of the story.


	25. Picking up the phone too late, thought I'd be at home by 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Nebula to go back to her own house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from 'Let It Pass' by Jakob Ogawa.

It was Sunday night. Time for Nebula to go home. She and Domino were working together to pack up all of her things that she had brought with her during her stay, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the bed. El was in the room too, packing her own bag. She was going to stay with Yukio for the night. Domino had been surprised when she’d asked if it’d be okay if she could stay with Yukio until tomorrow, but had agreed nonetheless. Who was she to get in the way of their romance, hm?

 

Soft music was coming from Domino’s phone as they packed in relative silence. ‘Relative’ silence because the songs were from Hamilton and occasionally, El would throw her arms out in some dramatic gesture as she mouthed the words, prompting a few snorts from both Domino and Nebula.

 

Domino glanced over at Nebula occasionally as they folded clothes and stuffed them in a backpack. The other girl was moving slowly, eyes glazed with thought as she absently jammed her toothbrush into one of the pockets.

 

Domino cleared her throat to get her attention, and El even paused in her violent re-enactment of one of the Hamilton scenes to hear what she had to say. “You don’t have to go home yet, you know. If you don’t want to.”

 

Nebula gave her a tight smile. “Its fine. I’ll be fine. I’ve stayed here for long enough. Thanks, though. I appreciate it.”

 

Domino tipped her head as she looked at Nebula thoughtfully. She wasn’t going to change her mind, Domino knew that, but surely there had to be some way she could check in on Nebula while she was at home. Apparently, her phone was confiscated as soon as she stepped through the door, so texting wasn’t an option. Sometimes, Nebula would steal it back at night, but Domino had a feeling she wouldn’t want to attempt that today.

 

“Will Gamora be able to let us know if anything happens?” Domino asked.

 

Nebula narrowed her eyes in thought, having picked up on Domino’s implied meaning. “I don’t know. We don’t really see each other at home so I don’t know if her phone gets confiscated too.”

 

“It doesn’t.” El chimed in, zipping her bag up, apparently done with her packing. “I mean, she texts me sometimes in the afternoons when I assume she’s at home, so I don’t think so.”

 

Nebula snorted. “Of course not.” She curled her lip slightly in anger, eyes flashing as she zipped her bag up with a little more force than necessary, almost tearing the zipper right off. She sighed, letting go of the bag and leaning back against the bedframe. “She said he wasn’t mad with me gone. Hopefully he won’t even realise I’m back.”

 

El and Domino exchanged a worried glance. That wasn’t very reassuring at all.

 

Instead of commenting, El instead returned her gaze back to her own bag, favouring instead to say “we hope so too.”

 

-+-

 

El, Domino and Nebula were sat silently in Domino’s car outside Nebula’s house, gazing up at the front door. It was chilly that night, and the windows began to get foggy from their breaths on the glass. Nebula stared up at her house vacantly, seeming unwilling to exit the car.

 

“You don’t have to go,” El murmured suddenly, echoing Domino’s thoughts in one final attempt to get her to stay. “You could stay with us for just a little while longer. Besides, someone has to look after Domino while I’m gone for the night. She needs company or she goes crazy, believe me.”

 

Domino’s jaw dropped in indignation, whirling around in her seat to glare at El, but Nebula spoke up before she could get a word out.

 

“No. It’s fine. I’ve stayed with you for long enough. I can’t avoid going home forever…” she answers, feigning confidence. The girl hesitates a moment longer, before tearing her eyes away from the looming mansion to look at the other two passengers, jaw set stubbornly. Her façade crumbles almost instantly at their worried gazes.

 

“Thanks for everything you’ve done for me…” She begins, looking awkward but grateful. “I really appreciate it, and although I’m not exactly sure how I can repay you –“

 

“Oh shut up, you idiot.” Domino scoffs, affection plain in her voice. “You don’t have to repay us for anything. We’re just happy to help our friend.”

 

El reached over to touch Nebula’s shoulder. “I wish we could do more…”

 

Nebula shook her head, pushing El’s hand off of her. “You can’t. I have to do this.” Her tone is steely. Noticing the slightly hurt look on El’s face as she retracts her hand slowly, Nebula seizes it once more and stares hard at her. “I couldn’t ask for better friends. But I do need to do this.”

 

El still looks slightly disappointed, but nods slowly in understanding. Domino reaches over and gives Nebula an awkward one armed hug in farewell.

 

“Just call us if you need anything.” She says solemnly, her brown eyes shining with warmth.

 

“Of course.” Nebula replies, grabbing her bag and opening the car door. After one last moment of hesitation, the young woman glances back over to the two of them with a half-smile, which, coming from Nebula, was practically a beam.

 

Then, she stepped out of the car and hurried up the steps leading to the house. Domino and El watched her until she was inside the door, before Domino turned the keys of the ignition and started up the car again, mentally trying to remember where Yukio’s house was so as to drop El off. As she pulled away from Nebula’s house, she wondered whether the other girl would be okay, and worriedly bit the inside of her cheek while she drove.

 

El shifted slightly and settled into her seat more comfortably, closing her eyes and sighing. When she opened them again, Domino was surprised to see that they were slightly glassy. El hardly ever cried.

 

El sucked in a deep breath. “I really hope she’s okay. What’s happening to her is…”

 

“I know.” Domino said, frowning. “I just don’t know what else to do. Nebula says she doesn’t want the police involved, and that it’s not as bad as we think it is, but I honestly have a hard time believing her.”

 

“What about your parents? Is there anything they can do?” El asked.

 

Domino shook her head slowly. It was tempting, but it would also mean betraying Nebula’s trust. “Not unless we tell them everything. And, uh, I don’t think Nebula would want us to do that.”

 

El huffed crossly, folding her arms over her chest stubbornly. “Telling is certainly better than getting beaten, isn’t it?”

 

Domino winced at the word ‘beaten’, but shook her head adamantly. “No. Nebula’s dad is hella rich, remember? He could probably pay off a bunch of people if it came down to it. Or find some other way to hush up the situation. Telling might hurt Nebula more than help her.”

 

El still looked ready to argue, but after a few moments instead deflated suddenly, looking disappointed and angry. “I know. I just… hate feeling so helpless.”

 

Domino sighed. “I know. But we just have to promise ourselves to be there for Nebula.”

 

They continued the drive in silence, the only sound in the car the steady hum of songs on the radio. Unbeknownst to either of them, Domino’s phone was vibrating on the floor of the car, the words ‘Incoming Call From: GAMORA’ flashing across the screen…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! THE LONG AWAITED NEW CHAPTER HAS ARRIVED! Sorry that it's so short, but uh... story's taking another new direction, hope this isn't disappointing to those of you who have waited so long for this! I'M SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER!! I HAVE TO DO IT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to post the entire thing as a oneshot, but it just got to 5,000 words halfway through and I just went okay I'll separate the major events to make it easier for everyone to read.  
> Chapter title is from 'Run Run Run' by Celeste Buckingham.


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